


The Rook

by pipecleanerFlowers



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Alcohol, Blackmail, Bullying, F/M, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, Major Character Injury, Past Relationship(s), Smoking, Vector is a Student Teacher AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2015-03-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 09:06:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2845559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pipecleanerFlowers/pseuds/pipecleanerFlowers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Vector meets Kaito for the first time, it’s because of Parent/Teacher Interviews.</p><p>~</p><p>The first thing Vector thinks is “wow he’s kinda hot” as his students line up outside of Professor Ukyo’s classroom for Parent/Teacher interviews. He’s not talking about one of his students, but rather… whoever the hell is with Tenjo Haruto.</p><p>Because damn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea where this idea came from or where it's going, but hey! Here it is, in all of its messed up glory ;) Enjoy!

The first thing Vector thinks is “wow he’s kinda hot” as his students line up outside of Professor Ukyo’s classroom for Parent/Teacher interviews. He’s not talking about one of his students, but rather… whoever the hell is with Tenjo Haruto.

Because _damn_.

When they reach the desk after a long half hour of standing in line, the first thing that comes from angel-face’s pretty mouth is:

“So you’re the asshole who’s been terrorizing Haruto.”

Professor Ukyo barely bats a lash as the kid ignores him in favour Vector, his student teacher. Vector grins like nothing’s wrong.

“Terrorizing? Oh good, I see you’ve been studying this week’s vocab,” Vector says, tearing his eyes away blondie in order to compliment Haruto. It takes a lot of effort, to say the least.

Haruto’s lip quivers and Ukyo smiles. “I’m glad you were able to come to talk about how Haruto’s doing, Kaito. Father busy at work again?”

Kaito looks ready to murder and Vector’s college boy hormones almost spike. “Yeah. So. Can we talk about how from the things I’m hearing, whether I should invest time into getting a restraining order to make sure _he_ stays away from Haruto?”

Kaito glares at him and Vector shoots him another grin.

“I’m sure we can work out the details of whatever Haruto’s been telling you,” Professor Ukyo says. “But first, I have some concerns about Haruto’s behaviour in class…”

Vector spends the rest of that particular interview having a staring contest with Kaito and trying to decide what colour to call his pretty eyes.

+++++

“Your brother’s hot,” Vector tells Haruto when the bell tolls for break and everyone’s rushing out of the class. “Wanna give me his number and I’ll give you some bonus points on the unit test tomorrow?”

Haruto stares at him with a defiant, lip-quivering pout before breaking exactly fifteen seconds later. “Promise?”

“Pinky promise.” He sticks out his pinky and Haruto locks it.

“Swear on the River Styx.”

“What?”

“Do it or no deal.” So this kid could be assertive. Interesting.

Vector smirks. “I swear on the River Styx,” he recites.

Haruto nods to himself before tearing a sheet out of his workbook and scribbling down Kaito’s number before shoving it at Vector in a crumpled ball and running out of the classroom.

+++++

“Whatcha lookin’ at?”

Vector looks up from him D-Gazer, where Kaito’s number is safely stored for future pestering, and sees his fellow student teacher, Mizuki Kotori, strolling toward the bench he’s taken residence on.

“My D-Gazer, clearly,” he says sarcastically, and she snorts at him before taking the seat next to him.

“What’s _on_ it, nerd,” she asks, flicking his forehead, and maybe he deserved that since last he checked, she’s still bitter about being left alone last week with the crazy librarian to put away all the returns.

“A number I’m thinking of calling.”

“Whose number?” Kotori’s curiosity literally wraps her voice and he can tell that in about five seconds she’s going to do the giddy girl gossip thing.

“Tenjo Kaito.”

She gasps. “You have his number? How?” she asks, in total disbelief. “It took me _three years_ to get his number!”

Vector shrugs and smirks. “It’s a secret. How do you know the kid?”

“Well, first of all he’s not a kid. He’s five years older than us.”

Vector lets out a low whistle. “Damn. He’s on some major fountain of youth shit. Looks like jailbait.”

Kotori rolls her eyes. “Yeah, sure. Anyway, I know him because he used to tutor Yuma back in high school. We’d end up hanging out after study sessions. Now, how do you know him?”

“His brother’s in my class.”

“And how’d you end up with his number?”

"Why should I tell you?"

"Because I'm in charge of scheduling and I can have you on detention duty after-school _all week_."

Vector raises his eyebrows. She gives him an expectant look. “Fine, fine, I asked his brother.”

It’s Kotori’s turn to let out a low whistle. “He’s not gonna be happy about that.”

Vector laughs. “Yeah, that’s the point.”

“Well, watch out. He’s not someone you can step all over.”

“Makes it more fun.”

“You’re such an ass,” she says, kicking him in the shin.

He feigns pain. “Oh, how you wound me.”

+++++

_< <your brother was craving hot cocoa so I bought him some>>_

_< <repay me with a date? ;)>>_

+++++

“You did _what_?” Kotori practically screeches. “He’s gonna murder you!”

“He’s hot when he’s murderous.”

“Vector, seriously.”

“What? It’s true.”

Kotori groans. “Just… I don’t even know. Be careful.”

“I really don’t know why you’re not warning him instead of me.”

Kotori lets out a sarcastic huff of a laugh. “You don’t know him like I do.”

+++++

 _Motorcycle sex_ is the first thing that passes through Vector’s hormone-addled brain when Kaito pulls up to the coffee shop on a bona fide motorcycle. He pulls of his helmet and tucks it under his arm and when he finally looks toward Vector, there’s death in his eyes.

It’s fucking hot.

“Hey pretty boy,” Vector says, peeling himself from the brick wall and casually making his way down the steps to greet him.

“Hey asshole.”

_Our hatesex could be so amazing._

Maybe he needs to stop thinking about sex.

"So, wanna get that hot cocoa for me?"

Kaito trudges after Vector into the warm coffee shop and they stand in line. Kaito’s gaze is directed at the tumblers on display, and Vector’s is directed straight onto Kaito’s pretty face. His lips look delicious.

And Vector is honestly proud of his mastery of the straightface.

"What would you like today?" The too-cheerful barista asks.

"A tall hot chocolate and a  _grande_  dark roast," Kaito says. He taps his card to pay and quickly shuffles over to the waiting area. Vector follows him.

"You're a straight black kind of guy? Or are you just pulling that shit to look tough?"

Kaito shoots him a glare and Vector enjoys the fact that his not-date has too look up at him in order to pull off such a hateful look.

"Black coffee is the only way I'll be able to stay awake right now," Kaito mutters as he redirects his gaze toward the green straws.

"Aw, you're actually making an effort to stay awake for me!" Vector coos. "How sweet!"

The barista interrupts whatever Kaito would've said next by announcing their drinks and Kaito shoves one at Vector before stomping off to find a table. Vector thinks he's adorable.

As they start to sit down, Vector gets straight to business: “So, are you straight and should I back off now, or…?”

“Somehow I get the feeling you wouldn’t back off even if I was.”

“So you’re gay? Bi?”

Kaito’s eyes narrow and Vector relishes the slip-up. “None of your business.”

“I’m bi. And you’re hot. So maybe we should date. Or fuck. Either one is cool with me.”

A dusting of pink scatters across Kaito’s cheeks and his eyes burn. “Neither is cool with me.” He takes a (probably scalding) gulp of his coffee and doesn’t flinch when he sets the cup back down.

“You know, you could give me a shot and I could make things easier for Haruto in school.”

When Kaito’s brow furrows, Vector knows he’s either played a terrible or amazing card.

“AKA, you’d stop bullying him?”

“I don’t bully him so much as I pick on him to answer questions a lot. Partially because his name is one of the few I’ve memorized.”

“So why does he come home every day looking shaken up?”

“Because some kids bully him. I could make their lives very hard. Just for you.”

“How so?”

“Detentions, withdrawal of free period privileges…” Vector says. “Professor Ukyo’s pretty easy to manipulate that way and since he’s the main authority in the class, it’ll be a cinch.” Vector shrugs. "All for one shot."

“I can’t believe you’re manipulating me into dating you.”

Vector shrugs. “Didn’t really think I had much of a chance otherwise,” he says, somewhat truthfully. “Anyway, I think you’ll find my terms agreeable so text me when you decide.”

Vector slides his chair back and makes his exit, thinking he did a damn good job.

+++++

_< <fuck you>>_

_< <is that a yes because gladly>>_

_< <it’s a yes. but you have to show up with chocolates or no deal>>_

+++++

“What kind of chocolate does Kaito like?” Vector asks and Kotori actually has to think about that for a moment.

“I don’t know. I know he likes caramels.”

“Then do I get him a fancy box of chocolate or a bulk supply of caramel?”

Kotori shrugs.

“You’re useless,” he mutters.

“Hey!”

+++++

It pretty much takes forever for Vector to think of a suitable date location, partially due to his lack of dating beyond one-night-stands and coffee shop meet-ups (the first is out of the question, and he’s already used up the second, so he’s kind of out of options).

He stares at the wall across from him, bouncing a ball off it and catching it over and over again, wondering if his dorm neighbour is sick of him yet.

“It doesn’t need to be extragavant,” Kotori’s voice says, and he glances over to his laptop where Skype is open and her smiling face stares back. “Like, anything lowkey is probably fine. You could take him to a movie?”

"A movie? How will he get to know how _amazing_ I am if I take him to a  _movie_?"

Kotori shrugs. "Little gestures are nice. Like holding open the door, and paying the tab. Though, somehow I think that'll only hurt his pride..."

Vector rolls his eyes. “At least tell me he’s never dated so he won’t have high expectations.”

“He’s twenty-six, of _course_ he’s dated.”

“Well, fuck.”

Kotori just laughs, already fully aware that his track record of dating never goes beyond a first (either catastrophic or orgasmic) date.

“I hate you.”

“You love me,” Kotori says knowingly. “And anyway, I’m sure you’ll be fine. Got any questions about your lesson plan for tomorrow or can I go work on mine?”

“Do whatever you want.”

“Alrighty then! See you tomorrow, Vector!”

+++++

Haruto’s staring out of the window, bored with the lecture and bored with the drawings that decorate his notebook. Vector watches him for the majority of the class, planning on how to ask him about potential things to do on a date with his brother. During break? After school? What words? Vector groans to himself as he observes the lecture from his station in the back row.

This Kaito kid was a lot of damn work.

As the class is split up into groups to work on diagrams, Haruto is once again left alone and Vector goes to join him as usual, thinking of different ways to phrase “I need you to help me woo Kaito so I can fuck him” without it sounding… well. Like that.

“So I heard you wanna date my brother,” Haruto says quietly before Vector can even sit down at his lab desk.

“Yeah, what about it?” Vector asks smoothly, expecting nothing but outright resistance.

“He likes black coffee, and stargazing, and joyrides on the highway at night, and having existential crises, and caramel, and Duel Monsters,” Haruto lists, and Vector’s jaw almost drops.

“You’re seriously volunteering that information?”

“Yeah, what about it?” Haruto echoes back. “Now you have to help me ace my cell write-up, or I’m telling Kaito you punched me.”

Vector lifts his eyebrows. “Where’s the bruise to prove that?”

Haruto lifts up his shirt a couple inches to show some blue and purple bruising on his abdomen before quickly letting go, fabric falling to cover it again. He glances around to make sure no one noticed, before picking up his pencil and turning to page 345 in his textbook.

“Who the hell did that to you?” Vector's brow furrows.

“Some kids. Doesn’t matter.”

“How long?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Haruto repeats. "Now help me or I'm telling Kaito."

Blackmail had never felt so wrong in Vector’s life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they part ways at the train station, Vector realizes he doesn’t know much about the Tenjo brothers, and yet all of his cards are already on the table.

_< <gotten over me already?>>_

_< <no, just haven’t thought of where to take you yet>>_

_< <what about the arcade?>>_

_< <works for me>>_

+++++

“Do we have a protocol for physical bullying in the school?” Vector asks before Kotori can even answer with “hello.”

“What?” she asks, confused. “I don’t think so? Why, did something happen?”

“Nothing, I just want to know in case it comes up,” Vector lies, impatient. “Any protocol?”

“Well, you could tell the prof you’re shadowing? Maybe he can do something about it.”

"Alright, thanks."

He hangs up, frustrated. Considering the number of things Vector’s done that Professor Ukyo has turned a blind eye to, he would be totally useless.

+++++

Vector would have never in his life pinned Kaito (straight-laced, serious, hot-as-hell Kaito) as an arcade type. Bright flashing lights, screaming kids, and booming electronic dance music were the exact opposite of what Vector would have guessed, in fact. And yet there they were, entering an arcade with all of those things (minus the screaming children, because thank god it was open till late and they had the sense to go around their bratty curfews).

“You’re buying your own tokens,” Kaito says, heading over to the front desk and pulling his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans.

Vector shrugs. “That’s fine with me.”

Kaito's wearing fancy date-clothes (which are comprised of dark jeans, a button-up shirt, and a peacoat), looking classy and yet still not his age, while Vector’s in jeans and a hoodie looking every bit the college kid he is. Vector pulls out his D-Gazer and shoots off a text to Kotori: _< <u could have told me he was classy as fuck>>_

Vector pays for 100 tokens as Kaito stands off to the side, toying with his D-Gazer and glancing around furtively (though Vector has no idea what he could be hiding from). Vector notices a couple silver rings circling his digits. _He’s into jewelry too, huh?_

“So what game am I gonna kick your smug ass at first?” Kaito asks, as Vector joins him with his own cup full of tokens.

“I was thinking more along the lines of who can get the most tickets by the end of the night," Vector suggests, wiggling his eyebrows.

There's a spark in Kaito's eyes before he responds: “You’re on.”

+++++

Vector loses. Kaito gets Haruto a set of ESPer Robin-themed mechanical pencils with his winnings, and shoves the rest of his tickets at Vector (who has been eyeing the foam disc shooter that he’s exactly 47 tickets away from and "Hey Kaito, thanks!").

"So, were you going easy on me? Or do you just suck?" Kaito asks as they wait for their prizes.

"I was going easy on you."

"Yeah,  _sure_."

+++++

They end up going to a nearby Starbucks.

“Loser pays,” Kaito says as they enter the establishment.

The heating is already thawing out Vectors hands from the freezing walk. Kaito seems completely unaffected.

“Sure.” They head up to the counter, and are greeted by yet another cheerful barista. “A _Grande_ strawberries and cream frap, and a _Grande_ …” Vector looks to Kaito.

“Green tea.”

When Kaito leaves to secure the comfy chairs in the corner, Vector sighs.

Haruto’s situation is still bothering him, and now without the distraction of bright lights and booming electronic dance music, it’s settled into his mind again with an uncomfortable weight. Vector drums his fingers on the counter as he watches the barista mix up his frap, and wonders why it matters so much. He barely knows either of the brothers (and his plans of getting to know the older one better are going to slip far out of his reach if Kaito finds out that he’s so far been able to do absolutely fuck-all about Haruto’s bullying situation).

“Here you go,” the barista says, handing him both cups. Vector takes them and looks over to Kaito, who’s toying with his D-Gazer again and staring at it, absently spinning the rings on his fingers.

Vector sets the cup down on the table and Kaito glances at him as he sits down.

“Thanks,” he says, grabbing it and taking a sip (it hasn’t cooled down yet, and Vector’s impressed again with the lack of flinching in his pretty eyes). “So… how’s Haruto doing in school lately?”

Vector debates telling him the truth. He really, truly does.

“He’s good,” Vector lies. “His grades are getting better, and he’s paying more attention. Well, at least in his maths and science classes. I don’t know about his other courses since I’m not there.”

“Makes sense.”

“Yeah.”

Vector slurps down some of his frap and watches Kaito sip at his tea. Or rather, he watches Kaito’s lips.

“How’s your life? What do you do for a living?” Vector asks curiously.

“Nothing special,” Kaito evades. “Life’s okay.” Vector raises an eyebrow at him. He shrugs and drinks up more of his tea. "And..." he continues after a moment, "maybe a second date wouldn't be so bad."

+++++

Haruto gets a bright red “A” on his diagram and write-up, and Vector is out of the woods for now. Haruto, however, isn't.

“Here’s my number, call me if you’re in trouble.” Vector crunches a sticky note into Haruto’s sweaty palm after school and walks away before he can wonder what the hell he’s even doing. He heads to the library, where he has Returns duty again with Kotori, who’s already there sliding books into their rightful places.

"Hey Vec!” she greets him, with her usual warm, friendly smile. “There’s not much today, so we’ll be done pretty soon hopefully.”

“Good, I’m too exhausted for this,” Vector says, pulling a stack of books out of the Returns basket.

“So…” she says slyly from across the empty library. “How’d the date go?”

Vector smirks at the memory. “Good. We went to the arcade and I found out he’s ridiculously good at air hockey and refuses to play DDR because last time he did, he fell off the machine.”

Kotori laughs. “I remember that. Yuma beat him by a mile that day and he’s never wanted to touch the game since. Anything else happen?”

"He doesn't seem to like talking about himself."

Kotori nods. “Yeah, he’s like that.”

“He wouldn’t tell me what he does for a living. Makes me think he might be a contract killer by night, hot piece of ass by day.”

Kotori gives him a look.

“What? It’s true. He’s really attractive and he should fall in love with me quickly so we can _do things_.”

“Well, in any case, if you want to know anything about him, you’ve got to hear it from him. I’m not saying anything,” Kotori tells him. “He’s kind of a private guy, doesn’t get involved much with other people. Back when he tutored Yuma, we pretty much dragged him into our group, but he rarely showed up.”

“Introvert?”

“Probably, but like I said, you want to know about him? You get it from him. But... I guess that depends on whether you got a second date?” Kotori peers out of bookcase aisle at Vector, waiting for a response.

Slowly, a grin spreads across his face. "Yeah. I did."

She squeals in delight and Vector throws a book at her.

+++++

 A week later, Vector’s in his dorm, revising his lesson plans, when his D-Gazer starts vibrating. It’s… Kaito?

“Hey, what’s up?” Vector answers, hooking it around his ear.

“Vector?”

That’s not Kaito.

“Haruto? What are you doing with your brother’s D-Gazer?” Vector’s brow furrows. _Something’s wrong_ , he realizes with a start of panic.

“Doesn’t matter. Can you get to Central Station right now?”

“Yeah, but--”

“Just do it. Please.”

The line drops and Vector stares at the now-blank eyepiece. _What the fuck is going on with this kid?_

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sensation of sinking isn't unfamiliar to Vector. But this kind of sinking is... different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First I'd like to thank my three reviewers for their lovely comments <3 thank you so much!! Not many people read my rarepair fics, so any response at all means a lot to me :)
> 
> And secondly... I hope you enjoy this next chapter~!

The monorails run so slowly that Vector ends up plugging into his iPod and trying not to think of worst-case scenarios. Tries not to think about Kaito and how angry he'll be (because as much as that would be hot, he'd rather not be the cause of it this time). Tries not to think about why he’s so damn worried in the first place because this shouldn’t matter, but it does, and he’d rather not detail it out.

Central Station is in the heart of the Heartland Shopping Centre. The train stops and Vector steps off, glancing around for any sign of Haruto’s blue hair. It takes him a while, but Vector finally spots him in the crowd, wearing his brother’s D-Gazer, looking panicked as all hell. Vector hooks his own D-Gazer over his ear and syncs it into the duel. It looks pretty bad.

Vector manages to navigate himself through the crowd, and he reaches Haruto’s side just in time to see him get knocked back into a brick pillar by the vending machines. He looks over to the other side, where a gang of his classmates are snickering and talking trash.

Option #1: Vector takes the teacherly role and breaks it up as if it’s some after-school scuffle.

Option #2: Battle Royale.

“I can’t fucking believe you,” Vector mutters, frustrated as he pulls his own duel disk out of his messenger bag, knocking his headphones back to rest around his neck.

“ _Duel Mode, engage: Battle Royale Mode_ ,” the crackling female voice of his disk says.

The opposing kids have a range of differing reactions to this sudden interruption, and the ring-leader’s is outright panic. Vector cackles. “If you punks think you can get away with bullying my students off school grounds, then you’ve got another thing coming,” Vector growls. Then he draws.

+++++

Vector quite literally brings down the roof on Central Station, shooting the ringleader's life points down to zero and sending all of the kids running off frantically to avoid getting hit by AR-rendered chunks of reality. It’s over too fast, too soon, and yet just in time. When he turns his back to the wreckage, he sees Haruto on his knees, staring at his hands, duel disk still precariously strapped to his forearm.

“Don’t pull this shit on me. Do you actually _want_ to get hurt?”

He can see tears prickling at the corners of Haruto’s eyes, and he almost feels bad.

“I just wanted to scare them off…”

“Using your brother’s deck, a strength that’s not your own, that you barely know the mechanics of? Are you _kidding_ me right now?” Vector unhooks his D-Gazer and grimaces. “Fuck, Haruto. If you really want to get them off your back, hold your own damn head up for once. Don’t drag me into your issues.”

“You told me to call you if I was--”

“I tell people a lot of things, kid.”

He turns on his heel and heads toward whatever train is at the station, not caring where it goes as long as it’s away from whatever feelings he’s let seep in here.

+++++

_< <txt me when u get this k?>>_

+++++

“Can you teach me?”

Vector looks up from his desk at the back of this class, where he usually sits and observes, to see Haruto staring at him expectantly with his bright eyes.

“Technically I’m already teaching you. I’m a student teacher, it’s what I do,” Vector says with a yawn. “What do you want, kid?”

“Teach me to duel like you.”

“Can’t Kaito do that? You said he likes Duel Monsters.”

Haruto shakes his head. “He… he wouldn’t want to.”

“Okay, kid,” Vector starts, “say I accept that as true. Then, why do you want to learn how to duel?”

Haruto steels himself, hands gripped into fists at his sides. “I want to hurt them back.”

All of Vector’s teacher-instincts scream at him. “I hurt them back for you the other day, there’s no need to do that anymore,” he says instead of the outright “fuck yes” that he would’ve said in any other situation. “Come back when your head’s cooled down, or don’t come back at all.”

Haruto throws a glare at him that looks more hurt than angry and storms away.

+++++

_< <got it.>>_

_< <took u long enough>>_

_< <sorry, lost my D-Gazer and didn’t find it till just now>>_

_< <keep a better eye on it>>_

_< <miss pestering me?>>_

_< <u dont know the half of it>>_

+++++

“Haruto’s taken a liking to you lately,” Kaito says as they create their own ridiculous frozen yogurt creation.

Vector looks up from his task of piling mochi onto their green tea/mocha chocolate mix with a smirk. “I’m growing on you two.”

“On Haruto,” Kaito corrects, placing broken pieces of waffle cones into the froyo cup. “Not on me.”

“Sure. We’re on our second date, and you’re saying you don’t like me? I’m hurt, Kaito.”

Vector takes a singular maraschino cherry and places it on top of their mountainous glob of froyo. Kaito raises an eyebrow at him. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Kaito pays (and Vector asks him if it's because he's paid twice and if Kaito feels bad, being the older one and all. He gets a glare in response) and they pick the table farthest from the window (and Vector still has zero clues as to what Kaito’s hiding from).

“So what have you done to induce this change of heart in Haruto anyway?” Kaito asks, passing Vector a bright pink spoon.

Vector shrugs. “I’m just that great, Kaito. Everyone loves me eventually.”

"Sure they do."

“You’re the type to fall in love with total nerds, aren’t you? Should I start wearing glasses and tell you about the Kutta-Joukowski Theorem? Or explain the end of Evangelion?”

“Not necessary.”

Vector smirks, folding his hands under his chin. “So you could fall in love with me just the way I am?” he asks, fluttering his lashes.

“I didn’t say that.”

“Aw, you’re so sweet!” he coos.

Kaito rolls his eyes.

+++++

When Kotori finds out that there’s a third date lined up in Vector’s near future, she’s shocked. He knocks her on the head with one of his various textbooks.

“Is my track record really that bad?”

“Even _you_ know it’s that bad,” Kotori responds, rubbing the crown of her head where the book hit. “And this is Kaito we’re talking about. Like. _Wow_.”

They’re working on their reports for their professors, which essentially means a lot of making stuff up about how valuable the semester has been so far working with them. Kotori’s already done, but Vector’s barely got a couple sentences strung together, so they’re huddled at his desk trying to come up with stuff. Kotori’s claimed the chair and is currently spinning on it as Vector sits on his bed and lets her work her magic.

“You could talk about that bullying stuff you were asking me about.”

“But nothing's happened.”

Kotori spins around to give him one of her Looks. “What? You think I’m oblivious to what’s going on? I teach the same students as you and even I’ve noticed what’s been going on. Especially around Haruto.”

“So what did you about it?” Vector drawls, leaning against his headboard.

“I had the urge to spike their juice-boxes, actually.” Vector nods in approval and Kotori cracks a smile at him. “But I couldn’t do much unless it was right in front of me, so unfortunately… not much. What did you do?”

“Levelled Central Station on ‘em.”

“ _What?_ ”

“Long story,” Vector says with a shrug. “Basically, Haruto called me, and I ended up duelling the shit out of those punks and they ran off crying for their mommies. And Haruto wants me to teach him how to duel now, which… I don’t even know. But he’s getting me in the good books with Kaito. And don’t you dare start spewing your morality bull on me.”

“I was tempted, but I won’t,” Kotori promises. “Just don’t use Haruto as a bargaining chip.”

Vector scoffs. “As if.”

“You probably already have."

He can't bring himself to argue.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit of a go-between for what happens next, so bear with me!

Netflix dates, Vector decides, are the best kind of dates.

They’re squished in on his tiny dorm bed marathoning Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters episodes on his computer since Netflix decided to finally bring some Quality to its streams. Kaito’s commenting on every hair-size change that the protagonist has gone through and wonders if the animators just stopped caring because it’s so ridiculous.

Netflix dates also mean Vector hears Kaito talk more than he ever has. His voice is so pretty, almost as pretty as his lips (but that’s late-night hormones talking and he squashes them down).

“This series is probably the worst series, jeez,” Kaito comments. “Like, what do you mean you can’t attack with a fusion monster on the turn it’s summoned? Did they even try to follow the actual TCG rulings? And the tournament arcs are so boring, why does every duel need to be like four episodes…”

Vector snickers at Kaito’s running commentary. “Your brother told me you don’t play much anymore,” he says when they hit another explanation of how Pot of Greed works.

“I don’t, but I still have my old deck and gear.”

“What did you play?”

“Photons. Do you play?”

“Yeah. I play Umbrals.” _But your brother already knows that._

“Cool,” he says, before digging into the Smartfood bag that Vector’s pretty much been hogging all night. The stuff is addicting. “Did you know I could probably kick your ass?”

Vector yawns. “Maybe later, I’m too exhausted for your competitive streak right now.”

Episode after episode goes by, and somehow their little marathon never drags. At some point they’ve finished off the Smartfood and Vector pulls out a Family-Size pack of Doritos that they finish in a single episode (“Who _doesn’t_ like Doritos though,” Vector says when Kaito actually acts surprised that he inhaled the entire bag).

They end up deck-building during another four episode duel, Kaito going through his Umbral deck with a kind of muted curiosity (“So you play a deck that’s meant to scare children?” “You should see their faces.” “You should rethink your career choices.”). It’s been a while since Vector put any thought into his deck, and they end up on TCG forums online, digging through his collection to find a couple cards that’ll do him well.

When it’s just them, just like this, Vector almost thinks a real relationship could work out.

It’s nearly four in the morning and the volume’s down so they don’t disturb Vector’s dorm neighbours. They’re both exhausted, and Netflix has already asked them two times if they’re still watching.

“More like _why_ are we still watching,” Kaito says, but Vector knows he’s enjoying every inconsistent, embarrassingly bad bit of it. “When’s this gonna be over?”

“When you conk out all cute on my shoulder so I can call Haruto and tell him you’re staying over and give him ideas about what we’re doing,” Vector responds with a smirk. “That’s when.”

“I’m not going to,” Kaito says, not missing a beat. “You’ll conk out before I do. Trust me.”

“You’re on.”

+++++

_< <it was really hard replacing myself with that oversized Blue Eyes plushie last night>>_

+++++

As Vector walks through the AR Fields of at least twenty different duels, watching towers crumble from XYZ monsters, multiple Overlay Networks make the entire campus glow with impending doom. But even with all this holographic power, just Vector’s presence alone, with his oversized D-Gazer and swagger of a champion, is able to make half the students stop mid-combo.

On any other day, he’d skip duel period. Duelling at this level had long ago gotten boring and dull, after all, and Professor Ukyo never had referee duty so Vector never made the effort to extend his stay at Heartland High.

Today, however, is different.

“Oh hey, fancy meeting you punks here,” Vector drawls, heading straight to the bullies who were no doubt in the middle of trying coerce Haruto into a rematch, if the fact that the poor kid is in a headlock between a beefy kid’s arms says anything about it. But they’re frozen.

The distraction is enough for Haruto to get himself out of it and get a good distance away.

“You want a rematch, right? Let’s go.” Vector slaps a deck into Haruto’s hand and slides a duel disk on the kid’s arm before he can start rethinking his life choices. “Haruto can take on all of you little shits. If he wins, you never bother him again.”

Haruto’s eyes are saucers. “N-no, no way,” he says, voice quivering. “I can’t win.”

“Sure you can. Our first lesson starts now. You know how to wear one of these, right?” Vector asks, spinning a brand new D-Gazer on his index finger before tossing it to Haruto.

Haruto fumbles with it for a moment before he can put it on. The red colour suits him and Vector pats himself on the back for his style choices. “You’re giving these to me?”

Vector ignores him. “Ready to get your asses handed to you?”

The ringleader steps up, laughing as if it’s a joke. If only he knew what he’d armed Haruto with.

“Lesson one: never say die.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vector's in2deep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (thank u qu-ko for scandal)

“Haruto told me about last week. At Central.”

Vector’s brow furrows. Kaito’s sitting on his bed, playing Pokemon on his 3DS, as Vector is stuck doing homework. Somehow this is a date, and he’s not sure how because it’s hardly even hanging out, but it’s nice to have the company while doing mind-numbingly boring things like reports.

But now… he’s not so sure.

“What’d he tell you?” Vector asks, voice lilting and curious to hide the worry.

“He said you duelled some of his bullies, scared them off. And then how you gave him a new deck, new gear and lessons, and then he duelled them himself and won… They haven’t bothered him since.”

“Really? That’s great.”

“Yeah,” Kaito agrees softly. “It is.”

Vector glances over and their eyes connect for a second before Vector looks back to his laptop, the utter thanks conveyed way too much for him to handle. It’s so different from the murderous looks he remembers Kaito giving him when they first met. It’s… _fuck_.

Vector’s in too deep.

“It’s nothing,” he says.

“It’s not nothing to Haruto,” Kaito says firmly. “Or me.”

Vector pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’m not a good guy, Kaito.”

“Like I didn’t know that. But you did what you said you’d do. That’s good enough.”

+++++

When Vector kisses Kotori, they’re on the threshold of her dorm room. She’s in shorts and a tank, hair wet and tangled around her shoulders, lips warm, eyes shocked. It takes less than two seconds for her to shove him away.

“What the _fuck_?” she hisses at him, glancing around the corridor for any potential onlookers. Thankfully for her, no one’s around. “I answer my door and you pull _this_ kind of shit?”

He just shrugs at her.

She then pulls him into her room, throws his sorry ass on her bed, and sits down on her desk chair, giving him the Look he’s so used to.

“Spill,” she commands.

So he does.

He tells her everything, from the deal he made with Kaito to date him, to how dates kept happening even though Vector hadn’t done anything to fulfill his side. He told her the entire bullying saga of Haruto and how Central Station ended with him teaching Haruto to duel even though there was absolutely no reason for him to do so. Then he told her how Kaito finally found out about all of it and how he never said thanks (but also never had to, and now his emotions are getting way too involved and maybe it’s stressing him out).

“This kind of shit doesn’t happen to me. This isn’t _normal_ , Kotori.”

“So you _kiss_ me and expect it to all go back the way it was?” Kotori asks in disbelief, her first words since he started his whole tirade. “And _that’s_ normal? Are you kidding me? Vector, you have to accept that maybe you’re actually serious about someone for once. You can’t pull this kind of shit unless you want to make a mess of what you’ve worked up to so far, and I know you like him. I know you, and you’re a total ass, but you’re not immune to this stuff. Remember Rio?”

Vector groans. “Don’t bring her up.”

“I’m bringing her up because you fucked up with her and I’m not letting you fuck up with Kaito.”

“Nice to know you’re looking out for me,” Vector intones. “But I’m here for the simple solutions, and you have nice legs.”

“I also have a _boyfriend_ , Vector.”

“Makes it more fun.”

“ _Vector_.”

“You never objected to being used otherwise--”

“I swear to god, Vector, I will throw you out of my window.”

Vector rolls his eyes. “Okay, fine, whatever.”

Silence permeates the room as Kotori draws her knees up to her chest and regards him with a sad look.

“What?” Vector asks roughly.

“I just think you should stop thinking so hard about it so much,” Kotori mumbles, staring out her window. “Just let it happen the way it does and maybe you’ll actually have a happy ending. You shouldn’t jump ship just because you can’t control what happens next. You know what happened last time.”

“Don’t,” Vector warns.

Kotori just sighs. “I miss her.”

+++++

_< <stop scaring so easy every time things get serious>>_

_< <im not scared>>_

+++++

Kaito’s eyes reflect the stars.

It’s almost Winter Break, and almost the end of Vector’s placement at Haruto’s school. There’s no telling what will happen when Vector’s gone, if the bullies will be even more ruthless now that Haruto’s got no one to back him. If they’ll really stop for good now.

They’re sitting on the roof of Heartland University’s main tower, one of Vector’s favourite places on campus. Haruto had mentioned that Kaito likes to stargaze, and it was pretty much the best place in the city for it. Even though the night is cold, they’re still warm with Kaito in his peacoat, and Vector in his hoodie (and despite saying he was fine, Kaito lent him his scarf anyway).

“Know any constellations?” Kaito asks, sitting down on the ledge.

Vector shrugs. “Just the Ursa Major,” he says, pointing up at it to prove he really did know. “My one friend in high school, Mizael, was obsessed with stars, and we all ended up nicknaming ourselves after the stars that made up the big dipper.”

“And you were Phecda?” Kaito deduces.

Vectors nods. “Yeah. And it just kind of stuck.”

“What’s your real name, then?”

“Shingetsu Rei. Dorky, right?”

Kaito cocks his head to the side and regards him for a moment. “So then… you must have been friends with Kamishiro Ryoga.”

Vector laughs. “Friends is a nice way of putting it. We called him Nasch, and he pretty much hated me.”

“What’d you do to deserve that? Not that it really takes much.”

“He hates you too?”

“You could say that. He liked this kid, Yuma, and saw me as competition for whatever reason. Well, ends up Yuma’s straight and he and Kotori -- you know her, right? -- started dating. Ryoga was… well, you know.”

Vector snickers. “Poor guy. Well, he hates me because I tried to date his sister, Merag. You know her as Rio, I guess. And I didn’t have the best dating rep in high school, so just asking her out the first time got me in some deep shit with him.”

“So you asked her out multiple times?”

“Mostly to annoy him,” Vector lies. “But she never said yes, so I don’t know why he worried so much. Wait no, I know why. It’s because we had a habit of making out in broom closets.”

Kaito stares at him. “You really are one of a kind. To think I technically already knew you and didn’t even know it.”

“That’s the nice thing about nicknames. I got to date you without my reputation preceding me.”

“Oh, trust me,” Kaito interrupts, “your reputation definitely preceded you. You’re an ass.”

“And yet here we are, on another date,” Vector reminds him with a happy grin. “You _like_ me.”

“Maybe.”

“Don’t be so coy,” Vector drawls, waving his hands flippantly, “it’s just us up here with the stars as our non-vocal witnesses.”

“In that case…”

Kaito stands up, closing the distance between them in a few long, slow strides. His eyes, soft and blank, reflect the stars. Vector’s mesmerized.

“You’re beautiful,” he says before he can think about it.

Kaito’s fingers slide across his jaw and Vector can feel the cool metal of his rings press into his skin. “You’re not so bad either, Rei,” he says quietly, before tugging on his scarf and crashing their lips together.

+++++

_< <so that thing i said earlier?>>_

_< <i lied>>_

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vector copes. He's not very good at it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for your reviews yet again! seeing them in my inbox makes my day!

Vector stops by a corner store on the way back to his dorm and walks out with a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He hasn’t done this since first year, back when Mizael had convinced him to quit, but his hands are still shaking and his heart is still pounding and it’s Merag all over again.

He takes out his D-Gazer and hooks it around his ear before calling Kotori. His hands fumble with the lighter as he lights up and breathes in and it’s not working yet, but it will.

“Hey Vector!” Kotori answers, and Vector can hear the smile in her voice. “What’s up? How’d your date go?”

He exhales. “It was… it was good. Yeah.”

“Are you back on campus already?”

“Never left. We were on the roof. But. Can you meet me?”

“It’s two in the morning and I’ve got company, so I’ll have to rainch--”

“Yuma?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry--”

“Nevermind,” he says, too quickly. “I’ll… I’ll figure it out.”

He can hear her sigh, hear Yuma say something in the background. “Good luck, Vector.”

+++++

Professor’s Ukyo’s students are happy to see Vector leave on his last day. He grabs his messenger bag, shoves his notebook into it, tries to ignore the ghost imprint of Kaito’s lips still on his when Haruto pokes him a couple times in the shoulder.

“I’ll miss you,” Haruto says. “And, uh… you should visit sometime and I’ll show you how good I’ve gotten?”

“Sounds good kid,” Vector says, clapping him on the back and slinging his messenger over his shoulder.

He can’t look him in the eye as he walks past, too busy remembering Kaito, and the press of his rings, the half-pack he smoked out his dorm window, the cold night that he tried to numb himself with, the scent of Kaito on the scarf he ended up keeping by accident.

“Bye Vector!”

The door shuts before Vector can even think to respond.

+++++

_< <are you okay?>>_

_< <peachy>>_

+++++

Winter break means Alit wants a reunion. Vector stares at the email on his laptop with a kind of hollowness because bringing along significant others and new friends and classmates is always on the table.

“I’ve never brought anyone with me before,” he says as Kotori takes the spot across from him in the booth.

They’d been planning on doing something after their placements were over, but they never got past actually saying that they should do something, so they defaulted to Starbucks.

Kotori slides over his strawberries and cream frap. “Well, you don’t have to? I’m sure everyone would love to meet him though.”

Vector groans. “Yeah, but maybe I’m not ready for that yet,” he says, dropping the empty pack of cigarettes on the table.

Kotori stares at him. “Is it that bad?” she asks, and Vector can’t tell if she’s stunned or concerned. “Like, that bad?”

He doesn’t respond.

“Vector, seriously.”

“What am I supposed to say? I told you I’d figure it out and I did.”

“You come up with the absolute _worst_ solutions to deal with your problems.”

“So? They work.”

“It’s barely been two days and the pack is empty.”

“When something is working, you don’t stop doing it.”

“Vector,” Kotori says, suddenly serious as her brow furrows and she concentrates on him, “are you trying to kill yourself?”

Vector nearly chokes on his frap. “ _What_.”

“Are you,” she repeats slowly, as if still trying to wrap her own head around it herself, “trying to kill yourself?”

He almost wants to laugh. “Fuck, Kotori, why would I-- why would _you_ even think that?”

“Because! You’ve been off this shit for years and suddenly you smoke a pack in two days because you’re fucking scared, what am I _supposed_ to think, Vector?”

“I don’t know? But I’m not suicidal. Jesus fuck, Kotori.”

She leans back and lets out a sigh of relief. “Okay, I just… I wanted to make sure I wouldn’t lose someone else just because you’re afraid of commitment.”

“You won’t,” he says, and it sounds like a promise.

“But… I’m confiscating your ID.” Kotori sticks out her hand over the table, giving him her Look. “I don’t want this happening again.”

Vector pulls out his wallet and slaps it into her outstretched hand. “Feel better now?”

“Do you?” she throws back, sliding his driver’s license out of his wallet and carefully placing it in her purse. “So… how’d your date go? Must’ve been pretty bad.”

“It was great,” Vector corrects.

“I got your texts.” Kotori gives him a pitying look that Vector doesn’t want. “What happened?” she asks.

“We kissed and it was amazing and I have no idea what’s happening to me.”

Kotori frowns. “You don’t have to be in control one-hundred percent of the time.”

“Except that I do, or--”

“Or what? You’re just afraid of your own feelings. You don’t need to police them. And you don’t need to control Kaito either. He’s not an idiot.”

“So I should bring him to the party?”

“Like I said, you don’t have to. But… it’d be nice if you were there. That way Ryoga can hate on both of us.”

+++++

When Vector gets home, he picks up his D-Gazer. It takes three rings for Kaito to answer.

“Hey Vector.”

He puts on a grin. “Hey nerd, want to go to a party on the weekend? Saturday night?”

There’s silence for a moment. “A… party?”

“If it’s not your scene, that’s cool. We can always ditch and do other things, but I figured I’d ask first.”

“Who’ll be there?”

“Oh, I dunno. My high school crew, Kotori and Yuma too. Probably their friends. Let’s just say a lot of people.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Sounds good.”

When he hangs up, Vector heaves a breath and stares down the empty pack of cigarettes, wishing he’d saved one now that he can’t buy them.

+++++

_< <sure.>>_

_< <to the party?>>_

_< <yeah. I’m down.>>_

_ <<sweet. meet u at heartland tower?>> _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apparently there can be 20-25 cigarettes in a pack according to my research? So yeah, Vec really went to town with that one.
> 
> btw, PAR-TAY in the next chapter! Be there or be square, my lovely readers~!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parties are a great place for confrontations.  
> AKA: meet the "we're awesome at holding grudges" Barian crew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shout-out to adreus for helping me out with some scenes in this chap! Also shout-out to my beautiful reviewers who make my day! Thank you sooo much <3

Vector and Kaito are the last people to arrive.

“You could have told me it was one of these reunions,” Kaito had mumbled on the walk over.

Vector had just shrugged. “I heard you like to make appearances.”

“Point taken. So what do you do at these parties?”

“Hookup with hot people, chill with the food, indulge myself…”

Kaito gives him an amused look. “Why’d I even ask?”

The party is in full swing when they get there. Vector grins and waves at the people he knows, same to the people he doesn’t, as he leads Kaito to the kitchen where Alit is filling bowls with chips and popcorn. The counters are littered with bowls filled with other snackage.

“Hey! You made it!” Alit says, smacking him on the back. “And with a friend? Who’s this?”

“Kaito,” Vector says. Alit lights up with recognition. “Kaito, this is Alit.”

“After Alioth, I’m guessing?” Kaito says, grabbing Alit’s proffered hand.

“Yeah! So you told him that story, huh?” Alit grins. “Well you’re not getting my real name out of me, so don’t bother asking. It’s _so_ nerdy, jeez.”

“All of our names were nerdy,” Vector says, hefting himself up onto the countertop and grabbing a handful of popcorn. “That’s why they stuck so well.”

“Especially Rio and Ryoga,” Alit adds. “Talk about embarrassing twin names. Doesn’t she only let Kotori call her Rio nowadays?”

Kaito cracks a smile.

“By the way, I’m a fucking awful host. Did you guys want something to drink other than beer? We’ve got tons of shit in the fridge, juice, pop, you name it. Gilag stocked us up and there’s no way we’re finishing it all ourselves.”

“Beer’s good for me. Pass one over,” Vector says. “What do you want Kaito?”

“Do you guys have ginger ale?” Kaito asks.

“Yeah. Fridge, I think it’s in the top shelf? Hell if I know, he bought so goddamn much. This is what I get for giving Gilag grocery duty in the middle of a Sanagi rerun.”

“He’s still into her, huh?”

“She’s going to haunt us forever, man,” Alit says, nodding solemnly. “Anyway, apparently Merag is starting up the karaoke machine. Did you want to…?”

Vector shakes his head. “Go ahead. I’ll be able to hear your dulcet tones from here.”

“Okay then! Hey Kaito, want a grand tour since you’ve never actually made it to one of these before?” Alit asks. “We’re kind of rolling in it since I managed to snag that job as a personal trainer, so we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

Vector waves his hand like “go on” and Kaito shrugs. “Sure, where do we start?”

+++++

Merag’s voice drifts through the house. Vector opens up the fridge and grabs a bottle of beer since the coolers on the counter aren’t strong enough for this.

“Oh, hey Vector. Still showing your face?”

Vector pops the cap and closes the fridge. “Nasch, it’s been a while. Alit _invited_ me, you know.”

Nasch scoffs. “Doesn’t mean he wants you here.”

“He’s over it, why can’t you be?” Vector’s shoulders tense up. “Or are you just scared she’ll _fall_ for me again?”

Nasch looks about two seconds away from strangling him. “You should watch your mouth.”

“You should stop policing your sister so damn much. I can feel your jealous macho boyfriend vibes from all the way over here, and that’s just _creepy_.”

Nasch growls. “Alit’s the only one who actually gives a shit about you anymore.”

“It was five fucking years ago and she doesn’t even blame me so I don’t know why we’re rehashing this.”

“You tore us apart.”

“And yet here we are,” Vector says, faking amazement, “in the same apartment, having a civilized party like we do _every winter break_. Aren’t these reunions _great_?”

Nasch scoffs. “Whatever. Just don’t go near her.”

“Thanks for the reminder, I’ll be sure I don’t step in her direction.”

Nasch leaves, a bowl of popcorn in tow. Vector lets out a breath.

Merag’s song stops what feels like hours later and Vector’s already on a second bottle. There’s a round of applause that he half-heartedly joins in on because he always liked her voice (and how melodic it always was, saying his name).

Another song starts up, a duet of one of Sanagi’s singles that Merag’s no doubt doing just for Gilag. People mill in and out of the kitchen, chattering and laughing and eating and paying Vector no attention, which suits him just fine. Kaito’s still on the grand tour, and Vector knows it’s only taking a while since Alit’s talkative, plus he's practically rolling in cash lately so the new apartment is gigantic. He tries not to be impatient.

“Vector?”

He looks up from the dregs of a fourth bottle and Merag’s already across from him, right there, within reach. He wonders when she stopped singing, when he zoned out. He wonders when he’ll stop thinking she’s beautiful.

He pastes on a lazy grin. “Merag. Been a while.”

“Yeah,” she says with a smile that looks forced. “How’ve you been?”

“Good, the usual,” Vector says. “What about you?”

“Been practicing my singing. Tried to get back into basketball, but my legs couldn’t handle it,” she says, lifting herself up onto the counter to sit next to him. It takes her a couple tries and it’s painful to watch. Painful to know that was all on him.

“Well, you can’t say you didn’t try.”

“That’s for sure.”

Merag’s in a miniskirt as short as the one she wore in high school. A couple years ago, she had decided to embrace the twelve inch scar up her leg along with the rest of the cuts and abrasions that had left their marks, but she’s still just as beautiful as she was without them.

Her voice suddenly goes cold. “So, I saw you brought someone?”

“Yeah. I did.”

“How’d you manage to nab someone like Tenjo Kaito?”

There’s a lot of ways to answer that, Vector realizes, and he doesn’t know what to say. “I asked nicely,” he settles on.

“Must be pretty serious if he’s here with you.”

“You could say that.”

“Planning on cheating with him too?” Her question comes out so casually that Vector honestly has no idea where she’s going to take this.

“It’s not like I was _planning_ to, jeez. Shit like that just sort of… happens? You know?”

Merag just stares at him. “No, I don’t know. Nor would I like to.”

“It gets complicated and it’s not fun at all,” Vector supplies. “Zero out of ten, would not recommend.”

“Thanks for the stellar advice,” she says dryly.

Merag goes to slide off the counter and Vector’s hands automatically go out to steady her (because he’s seen her collapse when she stands and Merag in a pile on the floor is not something he’d like to deal with when Nasch is prowling around). When her feet are flat on the ground, his hands snap back to his sides.

“Kotori’ll be wondering where I am.”

“Yeah,” Vector agrees, thinking about Nasch’s threats again. “You’d better get going then.”

Then the door opens and Mizael nearly crashes into Merag.

“Oh,” she says, having dodged just in time. “It’s _you_.”

Mizael looks confused for exactly five seconds until he spots Vector. “Oh. It’s _you guys_ ,” he responds, flipping his blonde hair over his shoulder. “Were you rekindling or whatever?”

“Not unless Vector wants to cheat on his new boyfriend.”

Mizael blinks, all confrontation gone. “New boyfriend?”

“His name’s Kaito, you might’ve seen him around tonight?” Vector says as Rio slips out, no doubt wanting out of this particular conversation.

“ _Tenjo_ Kaito?”

“That’s the one.”

Mizael scoffs. “You could do _so_ much better.”

“What, you again?” Vector asks. “Talk about been there, done that.”

He sputters and his cheeks flush red and Vector almost laughs.

“You’re only fun to play with when I’m cheating.”

+++++

When Kaito gets back from his tour, he immediately grabs a cooler and downs it.

“Decide you don’t want to stay sober?” Vector asks, now sitting at the breakfast bar, halfway through a bowl of chips and about to move on to the nachos. A collection of beer bottles sits beside him on the counter.

“Maybe,” Kaito says. “If I say I want to leave early, we’ll leave early right?”

“Whatever you want, babe.”

“Does Alit have anything stronger than this?”

“Check the fridge.”

“Thanks.”

Kaito pops the cap off a bottle and is about to down some more when,

“Kaito?”

“Goddammit,” Kaito mutters, turning around and glaring. “What do you want?”

In the doorway stands a really tall man with ridiculously long white hair and Vector looks between them in slight confusion.

“Is there something I’m missing here?” Vector asks.

Kaito takes a swig before he answers: “He’s no one.”

“I’m his boyfriend,” says the tall person.

Kaito scowls. “You’re still on that? I thought dropping out made it pretty clear we were done long ago, Chris. Or maybe not responding to texts, not answering your calls, I don’t know? Common fucking sense?”

“I just wanted to know if you were okay, that’s all. Doctor Faker asked me to check in on you.”

“Yeah, because that’s _exactly_ what I need in my life. Another disappointing parental figure. Just leave me alone.”

Vector raises an eyebrow at the scene, not understanding what’s just transpired, but knowing enough that it’s bad. Kaito’s got a hand to his temple. Vector sighs inwardly. _Tonight is getting too messy._

“By any chance, would that early be now?” he asks.

“Maybe.”

“Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> since winter break is now officially over, I'll be updating weekly on Sundays instead of daily! Just a warning, since university unfortunately takes up a lot of time!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kaito sleeps over and stays over and the entire day is some kind of fucked up wonderful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dumps happy kaibekus on you guys
> 
> (hey cress remember last year when I thought happy kaibeku wasn't possible well LOOK AT ME NOW on a fuckin' roll ye that's right).

Vector’s fingers interlock with Kaito’s on the walk back to the university campus, partly because it’s cold, partly because his hands are shaking again, but also partly because, as he’s found out, Kaito’s a total lightweight.

“Fucking lunatic,” Kaito mutters as he takes another swig of the bottle that’s still gripped in his other hand.

"I know about crazy ex’s,” Vector says. "Trust me."

“I trust you,” Kaito mumbles, stumbling for a moment, and Vector has to pull him back so he doesn’t fall. On any other night it’d be amusing, but right now it’s kind of just sad.

“You know, one of my exes was there too. Merag, the one who was singing.”

“Didn’t you say she always turned you down?”

“I did.”

“Then how is she your ex?” Kaito asks, confused.

“It’s… complicated.”

“Lunatic,” Kaito supplies.

Vector nods. “Yeah, but I was too.”

“You still are.”

“For you, now.”

They end up taking a breather at a nearby park, since walking seems to be a lot for Kaito to handle (though in all honesty, he isn’t doing that badly. They just both need a break). They pick out the nearest bench and sit down, exhausted. The stars are invisible to them through the bright streetlights when Vector looks up to the sky, wondering how a party could go so south. Not that it really matters. Alit had seen them out with a smile and a wave and a request to not be strangers. Vector promised, as usual, but both of them know he isn’t planning on calling.

“Sorry.”

“What for?”

“Hell if I know.” Vector wishes he had a cigarette. “Did you meet the rest of my insane friends?”

“Ryoga wasn’t happy to see me. Kotori was. Mizael pretended he wasn’t.”

Vector vaguely wonders whether he met Mizael before or after he did. “Sounds like them. Anyone else?”

“Alit’s nice. Mizael always said he was annoying and a musclehead, but he was nice.” Kaito’s leaning on him, lashes fluttering in an effort for his eyes to focus. Vector puts an arm around him. Somehow, it feels natural. “Gilag was nice. Durbe was… nice? He didn’t really talk to me. And Merag was nice too… even if she is your crazy ex.”

“Wow, you remembered all their names.”

“I’m good with stars.”

Kaito’s bottle is empty now and Vector wonders if he’ll start sobering up a bit soon. Maybe they should’ve taken some food to go. Maybe they shouldn’t have gone at all.

Vector manages to quirk a smile. “Wanna stay over at my dorm tonight?”

“Haruto’ll be lonely.”

“He’s sixteen and can take care of himself. Just call him, I’m sure he doesn’t want to deal with a drunk brother.”

Kaito has to agree with that.

+++++

Kaito is a surprisingly coherent drunk. No stuttering, barely any slurring… Vector’s almost impressed, except that he’s still stumbling all over the place.

“How are you not drunk anyway?” Kaito asks when Vector swipes his keycard to get into his dorm.

“Because I paced myself and ate a lot,” Vector answers. “While you chugged down how many coolers before we even got to the front door.”

“If you knew Chris, you would too.”

 _Maybe I’m not the only one with bad coping methods_ , Vector thinks.

They walk in, and Vector’s dorm is a mess like usual, but Kaito still somehow manages to find it comfy as he crashes down onto the unmade bed.

“I’ll take the floor,” Vector says (and the words are unfamiliar to him because he’s never strung them together in that order before, not to anyone unless he counts Kotori who had residence issues in second year, and when has he ever turned down the opportunity to share a bed with a hot person before? He can’t remember).

Kaito’s arm reaches out and pulls him onto the bed in response. Vector’s almost screeches when he hits the mattress. “We’re sharing, stupid,” Kaito mumbles.

Their faces are so close and Kaito looks so determined about this in the most exhausted way possible. The deal is done when he takes Vector’s shocked silence as an “okay, sure” and throws the quilt (which had been squished against the wall) over them.

“Stay with me.”

Even though his heart is going doubletime and his hands are starting to shake again, Vector can’t seem to argue with him (not when Kaito’s warm hands are still holding his, not when Kaito looks like an angel).

+++++

Something Vector learns about Kaito quickly is that, even when slightly hungover, he is a morning person.

“Wake up, nerd,” Kaito says, nudging Vector’s shoulder. When Vector finally opens his eyes to the persistent poking, Kaito’s already up, sitting against the headboard, toying with the D-Gazer in his hand.

“You’re already ready?” Vector groans. “Jeez, it’s like--”

“Eight in the morning? Yeah.”

“How are you alive?”

“Well, I didn’t die last night so…”

“You’re crazy.” Vector says, voice muffled by the pillow he’s shoved his face into.

“Maybe,” Kaito says with a shrug. “I didn’t know you keep a collection of spare toothbrushes.”

“They’re for one-night-stands.”

“Also a gigantic box of condoms.”

“Also for one-night-stands.”

“I figured as much,” Kaito says, looking amused. “And aren’t toasters against dorm rules?”

Vector turns his head enough to give Kaito a very serious look. “Poptarts are life.”

“Chocolate-chip waffles are better.”

“Yeah, whatever. Just give me two minutes and heaven will be in your mouth, and I’m not talking about my dick.” Vector throws the quilt off of himself and swings himself out of bed, grabbing a packet from the Poptarts box on his desk. “Part of a nutritious breakfast.”

“Part of a diabetic’s nightmares,” Kaito throws back.

When the Poptarts are toasting, Vector sits back down. “I can’t believe I’m awake right now.”

“Teaching me about the wonders of Poptarts, at that.”

Vector gets the distinct feeling that Kaito’s making fun of him.

+++++

They end up hanging around his dorm all morning, playing arcade fighter games on Vector’s PS3. Kaito is hardly surprised to find out that Vector owns all of the Dead or Alive games.

“The boob mechanics are a teenage boy’s answer to all things,” Vector says as he sticks the game into the system.

“I thought that was forty-two?”

“Not when you’re horny as fuck.”

Kaito raises an eyebrow at him. “And I thought Kotori was exaggerating when she warned me about you.”

“She would. She’s a good friend that way.” Vector navigates them to the Character Selection screen. He kind of doesn’t want to know what she said, because even he knows there’s more bad than good on the pros and cons list to dating him (he wonders if any of it was about Merag, but Kotori doesn't have a cruel enough cell in her body for that kind of atom bomb).

Kaito picks out someone random and Vector picks out one of the various hot girls.

“So, you should kiss me whenever I win,” Vector suggests, trying to get back into his normal routine (the one where there are no feelings, there are no rules, and he feels normal again after the feels-fest that was last night).

Kaito breaths out a laugh. “Whatever, I’ll be winning.”

“So then I have to kiss _you_.”

Kaito rolls his eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”

Kaito wins three consecutive matches and refuses to let Vector kiss him. They agree that if he makes it to five, Vector owes him a romantic dinner out.

+++++

Vector is freezing by the time they get to the nearest fancy restaurant. There's a wait of thirty minutes for a table and they have to wait in the cold foyer. Kaito ends up holding Vector's hands as they wait in line, blowing on them with hot breath. Vector tries not to get flustered about it (and definitely doesn’t get all weird about the way he remembers that same breath on his lips, but Kaito’s still probably laughing at him on the inside).

“So, this place romantic enough for you?” Vector asks, a little flustered and hoping the redheaded curse of blushing at everything hasn’t suddenly decided to surface at this specific moment of his life.

“You clean up nice enough for it.”

Vector vaguely remembers the hour ago in which Kaito dug through his closet, which could more accurately be described as a pile of clothes, and had managed to find a black button-up shirt that Vector didn't remember ever owning. Kaito, on the other hand, is a naturally classy dresser even when donning clothes from the night before, and didn't have to change at all.

"Yeah, thanks," Vector says, pulling at his collar and shivering for the billionth time.

“You should invest in a proper coat,” Kaito says. “Or do you like borrowing my scarves that much?”

“They smell nice,” Vector affirms. “And coats are expensive.”

"You're wearing a moto jacket, you cannot tell me coats are expensive."

"Moto jackets are _cool_. And I'd rather look cool than be warm."

"Well, you're not _cool_ ," Kaito says with an amused look. "You're absolutely _freezing_."

Vector flips him off and Kaito just smirks.

The rest of the half-hour wait is spent holding hands (and Vector’s hands aren’t shaking so much anymore, and their hands somehow aren’t uncomfortably sweaty yet, and it’s kind of nice the way Kaito fiddles with his fingers and his rings) and listening to whatever’s on Vector’s iPod. Which. Well.

“I’m… actually not surprised at all,” Kaito says, going through the different artists. “Childish Gambino, Chris Brown, Daizystripper, Drake, Kyary, Nicki Minaj, REDMAN, SPYAIR…”

“Anything you like?”

“REDMAN,” Kaito says automatically, and as if to punctuate him, their single Challenge the GAME starts playing. “Haruto likes them too.”

“Fave song?”

“This one. And Flame of Life is really good too,” Kaito answers. “What’s yours?”

“ZEBLA.”

“You would.”

“It’s good.”

Kaito doesn’t laugh, but Vector swears he is doing some silent version of it. “I never said it wasn’t.”

Vector just picks the iPod out of his hand and scrolls through. “Did you know that I know all the lyrics to Stupid Hoe?”

“Vector, are you--”

The song starts playing and Kaito stares at him disbelievingly. “Yes,” Vector responds with a smirk. “It’s a talent.”

And then he starts rapping.

He barely gets through the first verse before Kaito clamps his hand over his mouth (and by this point people are staring and pointing and a little girl somewhere in the crowd is probably asking her mommy what “bitch” means). Vector, in a perfectly executed and mature response, licks his palm.

“You are ridiculous,” Kaito says, wiping his hand on Vector’s face. “And that rap is ridiculous.”

“It’s a work of art.”

“Your table is ready, if you’ll follow me!” A waitress interrupts cheerily, but she’s clearly not impressed with their display if the look in her eyes says anything about it.

“Thank you,” Vector says with a smirk, and they follow her, hands still locked together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is slightly earlier than sunday, but that's because I'm too tired to stay awake till midnight, thank u 7am shifts at work :/ but lucky u guys <3 u get this update a couple hours early!
> 
> hope y'all enjoyed it!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Love is a weird word. Vector doesn't like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello lovely readers :3 this is a bit of a filler chap, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Vector wishes Kotori hadn’t taken his only ID as he stops by the corner store for another box of Poptarts, staring wistfully at the cigarettes behind the counter.

Kaito went home after Vector treated him to dinner. They walked together back to the university campus and they kissed at the main gates and then he left and…  Well, the entire day was some kind of wonderful. But his heart keeps fluttering like something’s wrong and his hands keep jolting like something’s missing. He twirls his D-Gazer between his fingers, debating whether or not to call Kotori about it.

On the way out, box of Poptarts in hand, he ends up calling Alit.

“Wow! Fancy hearing from you!” Alit greets him enthusiastically. “What’s up, Vec?”

“Nothing much. How was the rest of the party last night?”

“Fun, fun. The usual drama and antics, but I’ve stopped caring about it. It’s just awesome getting to see you guys,” Alit says, no doubt with a wistful smile. “So… why’d you call? Not for small talk, right?”

“I’ve got a question.”

“Anything, yo. Shoot.”

"So, I was just with Kaito, and--”

“OOOOOOOOHHHHH,” Alit calls out, and Vector has pull his D-Gazer off of his ear. “You’re in _love_!!”

“What? No,” Vector denies. “That’s ridiculous.”

Except Alit’s completely ignoring him. “Hey! Gilag! Guess what, our Vector’s in _love_.”

“Alit, I swear to god--”

“Well, why else would you be asking me, expert of all romantic gestures, about Kaito?” Alit asks with a laugh. “You’re in love with Kaito, right?”

Vector inwardly groans. “No, I--”

“You didn’t tell me, but trust me, I _know_ these things. I _live_ and _breathe_ these things, Vec.”

“Okay fine, say you’re right,” Vector says, ignoring the way his heart pounds uncomfortably at the notion of actually _loving_ Kaito. “Hypothetically, you’re right. Then what are the symptoms?”

“Symptoms?” Alit starts laughing and Vector wants to punch him through the line. “You act like it’s an illness!”

“Maybe it can be.”

“Maybe you’re being stupid.”

“I’m gonna hang up--”

“No, no! Please don’t, I’m sorry!” Alit says, not sounding sorry in the slightest. “Symptoms, right? Well… when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s AMOOOOOREEEEEEEE!”

Vector cuts the call and wonders why he ever thought calling Alit was a good idea.

+++++

_< <can I ask u something vec?>>_

_< <anything unless its abt wat ur bro n i did over the weekend. that info aint 4 ur ears kid>>_

_< <he already told me he took u out for dinner>>_

_< <excuuuuuse me i took HIM out for dinner>>_

_< <vec who cares this is impoooortaaaaant plz help>>_

_< <k fine. sup im all ears>>_

+++++

Kotori’s dorm is warmer than his by a long shot and Vector wants to hurt whoever’s in charge of the heating system because the boys dorms have been a frozen hell for the past few days since Kaito stayed over and he’s starting to severely miss the feeling in his toes.

Vector has huddled into a dignified ball in her sheets and her heated blanket, basking in the warmth of the furnace by her window.

“So, are you warm enough to tell me the really super important thing you messaged me about or…?” Kotori asks, spinning lazily in her desk chair and twirling a pen between her fingers.

“You don’t know how good this feels,” Vector moans. “Like, _so good_. On a scale from getting fucked by Tetsuo to getting fucked by Tetsuo’s hot sister, this is as good as fucking that Kozuki chick whose boobs surpass the scale.”

Kotori groans. “You are the _worst_.”

“I am the _best_ ,” Vector corrects. “You’d know if you stopped dating Yuma long enough to try me.”

“I will kick you out of this warm happy place.”

Vector grumbles. “You’re no fun.”

“Okay, so, super important thing or…?”

“I need to invest in a heated blanket like yesterday, Jesus christ…”

“Can we please get to the point?”

“Okaaaaay, fiiiine,” Vector whines before rolling around to face her. “Haruto texted me.”

“Bullies?” Kotori asks, stopping mid-spin and already looking concerned.

“Nah, nah, he’s good now. But guess what?”

“What?”

“He’s got a cruuuuuuush,” Vector sings gleefully. “And he doesn’t want Kaito to know about it! And he wants my help trying to get the courage to talk to her!”

Kotori looks absolutely delighted. “That’s wonderful! What’s her name? Maybe I taught her while we were there?”

“Ayu-chan. Wouldn’t give me a last name, though, but how many Ayu-chan’s can there be?”

Kotori ponders on this information for a moment before snapping her fingers. “She’s got like, reddish hair and always wears a cute headband and… I don’t know, but she’s _really_ adorable and smart. His taste is good, I was afraid for a second it’d be that girl obsessed with dogs.”

Vector shudders. “Imagine… if I was still in high school, she’d be last on my list.”

“That’s still on your list.”

“You can never have too much experience, Kotori,” Vector says sagely. “Even if it’s a bad experience.”

“Have you used any of that experience on Kaito yet?” Kotori asks innocently.

Vector groans. “Well, we’ve slept together, but we don’t _sleep together_.”

“Why not?”

“Can we not do this right now?”

“Have you stayed clean?”

“Yeah, no smokes, no weed, no cheating… though I did think about pushing Mizael up against the fridge at the party…”

“Liar.”

“Okay, sure, but he’s still pretty hot. Have you ever seen his legs?”

“I’ve seen his arms, and I’m going to assume his legs are just as nice.”

“Hell yeah.”

“But… okay, does Haruto really want your help?” Kotori asks disbelievingly, steering the conversation back on topic. “Has he _witnessed_ you in a relationship?”

Vector shrugs, sitting up and wrapping himself with the heated blanket like a burrito. “He watched me wheel his brother, and so far Kaito hasn’t complained about me.”

“That’s because he doesn’t know you kissed me. And I’m guessing he doesn’t know about Mizael either.”

“And he never will.”

“My lips are sealed as long as you don’t pull that shit again,” Kotori promises.

“I… will try. No promises.” It’s half a joke, but Kotori’s not having it.

“Vector,” she warns.

Vector takes a breath, thinks about Kaito’s eyes, and tries again: “I won’t.”

There’s a moment to let that sink in, and Vector topples back over onto Kotori’s pillow.

“So, what kind of advice did you have in mind for Haruto?”

“I have no idea,” Vector says truthfully. “I don’t think Kaito would appreciate me turning him into a player.”

“Please don’t corrupt Haruto.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vector digs himself in some more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> early again, by about 26 minutes to midnight ahaha... I'm just really excited about posting these, Imma be honest! like, whoa, we're in the double digits now hella cool
> 
> hope y'all enjoy :3

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Kaito is standing at his door, looking warm and classy in his peacoat while Vector is shivering in his hoodie and sweatpants, having literally just rolled out of bed to answer the knock at his door. His case of bedhead rates at a round ridiculous.

“Your break’s almost over, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Maybe I wanted to see you,” Kaito responds, easily brushing past him into his messy dorm.

“No idea why you’d want to hang out here. It’s fucking freezing.” Vector shuts the door and starts to climb back into bed.

“Can’t you just buy a heater? You’ve been complaining for a week.”

“Too expensive, not enough floor-space.”

Kaito pointedly glances at the carpet, which is barely visible under all the piles of papers, textbooks, and laundry. “Oh, yeah, you’re a broke, unhygienic college boy. I forgot,” Kaito deadpans.

“And you’re a twenty-six year old… something,” Vector shoots back lamely from his position curled up under three different blankets. “Probably an assassin by night. Hell if I know.”

“I’m a NEET.”

“What.” That’s exactly _not_ what Vector had imagined (though Kaito with a handgun or a dagger wasn’t too realistic either, all things considered).

Kaito’s silent for a moment, gaze directed outside and Vector still can’t decide their exact colour because they’re so reflective. “I was a student,” he starts, slowly. He glances over to Vector, a furrow creasing his brow. “I was doing a Ph.D for Astronomy at Heartland University.”

“And now you’re not?”

Kaito nods. “It went south pretty quick when my funding got taken away and I couldn’t pay for it anymore. That happened before we met, maybe a few weeks earlier. And… Chris was the one who overlooked all of my research.”

“So that’s what you meant by dropping out?”

“Right.”

“What do you do now?”

“I take care of Haruto and live with my-- with Doctor Faker.”

“Estranged father,” Vector guesses.

“Right again. He’s trying to make things better, but mostly it’s just weird being back. It’s not too bad, since it means being with Haruto.”

“No wonder you didn’t want to tell me on our first date.”

Kaito nods, a slight movement that Vector almost misses. “Yeah. It was all kind of fresh, then.”

A moment passes between them in silence, and Vector bravely sticks his hand out of the blankets, into the cold, enough to link his fingers with Kaito’s.

“Kaito?”

“Mmm?”

“Sleep here tonight.”

Kaito’ absently runs his thumb over Vector’s knuckles as a smile almost touches his lips. “Okay.”

+++++

It’s five in the morning and Vector can’t sleep, too busy thinking about Kaito, who’s sleeping soundly next to him. Kaito, who is starting to become a normal, welcome, and terrifyingly permanent presence in his life.

But most of all, he’s starting to become a priority.

Vector’s D-Pad lights up the room in a surreal blue glow as he decides he can’t sleep, therefore he won’t sleep (because it’s break and who cares, he can always convince Mr. Kaito Earlybird Tenjo to a hundred rounds of “five more minutes” anyway). The entirety of SPYAIR’s MILLION album, a playlist of Sonic Boom Let’s Play’s, and six levels of Candy Crush later, he’s still no closer to sleep.

No one’s online on Skype when he checks for the billionth time, just in case Kotori’s name pops up (with her stupid couples selfie she uses as her display picture with her and Yuma ice-skating and being a happy, normal couple, with happy, normal couple problems), but she hasn’t been online for five hours and she probably won’t be anytime soon. But Merag is online (Merag, who he never took off his favourites list, whose icon still pops up from time to time, whose Facebook he still checks every so often out of his own self-loathing), not that they ever talk. Alit’s online too (but does Vector really want to go through another “Dear Alit” advice column? Not really).

He scrolls through his contacts on his D-Pad, going through old text logs and wonders if Haruto has a Skype account, if Haruto lays awake at night thinking about Ayu-chan and all the domestic things they’ll do if they ever get the chance, get past the high school sweethearts phase, or even start dating at all.

_< <hey kid. what r u doing tmrw?>>_

Vector doesn’t expect a prompt response.

_< <nothing. sup?>>_

_< <it is 5 in the fuckin morning wat r u doin up>>_

_< <thinking about ayuchan. u?>>_

_< <none of your damn business>>_

_< <what did u txt me for anyway jeez vec u must b p lonely>>_

Vector huffs at his D-Pad.

_< <im the one w a significant other in my bed kid sit down>>_

_< <i bet u r up bc of kaito right? u liiiiiike him>>_

_< <ofc i like him dumbass. im fucking dating him>>_

_< <but u arent fucking him. at least from wat i heard.>>_

_< <wow. rood. also thats none of your damn business either>>_

_< <did u want to hang out tmrw? u could buy me ice cream @ the mall and i can delete this convo from my dpad inb4 kaito sees ;)))>>_

_< <i hate u>>_

_< <see u at 12!>>_

Well there goes Vector’s plans of sleeping in.

+++++

When Kaito wakes him up in the morning, the first thing Vector does is roll over and drag Kaito back into bed with him.

+++++

Haruto does not make his ice cream order cheap. It needs to be a double scoop, mint chocolate and cookie dough, with a waffle cone -- the kind that has rainbow sprinkles on it -- and dipped in chocolate. Vector empties out exactly $10.46 from his bank account and gets himself a cheap bottle of water.

“I can’t believe you made me gourmet your ice cream. DQ seriously wouldn’t have been good enough?”

Haruto grins up at him. “Nope. Not when you were an hour late.”

“I was with Kaito and it is very hard to get up when sleeping next to a literal space heater.”

“You were still an hour late,” Haruto responds matter-of-factly.

“But. Come on. _Blizzards_.”

“Tenjo’s have expensive taste, Vec. You should know that. When has Kaito ever gotten coffee from anywhere other than a Starbucks?”

Vector thinks about this, but he knows they’ve never, _ever_ hit up a Dunkin’ Donuts or a Tim’s. “Never,” he finally admits. “But seriously, do you not like Blizzards?”

“But Vec, choc-dipped double scoop on a sprinkled waffle cone.”

He has to admit that it does sound pretty delicious.

They sit down at a table in the massive, crowded food court. Vector makes whirlpools in his water bottle and Haruto happily devours his ice cream, and they’re silent until Haruto looks at him and grins and says:

“So why haven’t you slept with Kaito yet?”

“I thought we were here to talk about how you don’t have the balls to talk to your crush,” Vector says dryly. “Because that’s pretty pathetic.”

“Hey! I just haven’t found the right words to write down yet…”

“You’re going to write a confession letter? Oh _god_ …”

Haruto pouts. “Is there something wrong with going the traditional route?”

Vector laughs and uncaps his water. “You’re kidding, right? If you want to date someone, just ask them. Simple, straightforward, and exactly how I got your brother. Shows confidence.”

“And what did you say to convince him to date you?”

“Told him he’s hot and that maybe we should date. Or fuck. Either is fine.”

“Well you still haven’t gotten to the fucking part so--”

“Are you seriously going to harp on about that? Jeez, kid, how do you even know about what we have and haven’t done?”

Haruto laughs and Vector wonders how anyone could bully a kid like him when he’s so… _this_.

“Because he still walks around the house like he’s got a stick up his ass,” he answers easily. “It’s only because Kaito told me about your rep. I’m curious! Why would a guy like you not make a move already?”

“I don’t think Kaito would like it if he found out we were discussing his sex life--”

“Actually, we’re talking about yours.”

“Which involves _his_.”

“Which is pretty sad at the moment, so… why?” Haruto laughs and licks up more of his ice cream, and Vector wonders if he’s met the devil (before he remembers he’s supposed to play that role and gets severely offended). “I’ll tell you about his ex, Chris, if you tell me!”

The kid knew how to drive a bargain. Vector thinks about this for a moment, running a hand through his hair. “Well… Kaito’s different.”

“Different?” Haruto perks up.

“Yeah. He’s different. He’s not a one-night-stand,” Vector says. “And you need to stop talking to me about my sex life because you’re a minor and this feels very, very wrong.”

“Aww, but it’s _fun_!”

Haruto is really, really not corruptible. Vector makes a note to alert Kotori of this before she starts blaming him for Haruto’s life choices.

“You’re a smart kid, I’ll give you that, but one word of this conversation to Kaito and I’m not gonna help you with Ayu-chan.”

Haruto shrugs. “Scaredy-cat.”

“Your turn. What do you know about Chris?”

“I know he’s the reason Kaito’s full scholarship got taken away and why he can’t go to Heartland U anymore.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chap's gonna be fun, I hope you're all still with me on this ride~!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lust is something Vector's familiar with, but not something he expects.

“You told me not to corrupt Haruto, but he’s already pretty sly for a sixteen-year-old,” Vector tells Kotori as they walk through the bustling campus bookstore, trying to find the contents of this semester’s booklist.

“What did he do?” Kotori asks, picking up one of the books with a price tag of $200 and pursing her lips. “You sure you couldn’t find any of these cheaper online?”

“It’s like they hate wannabe teachers,” Vector responds, plucking the offending book from her hands and setting it back down on the shelf. “He asked me why I haven’t slept with Kaito yet.”

Kotori’s eyebrows shoot up. “What?” she asks, almost offended at the thought. “But he’s such an adorable, sweet child--”

“Don’t ask me,” Vector says, peering at the booklist in Kotori’s hands. “He was pretty adamant about it though.”

“What did you tell him?”

Vector shrugs. “That Kaito’s… different.”

“Different how?” Vector doesn’t miss the coy smile that plays on her lips, teasing him.

Vector grimaces, hoping Kotori mistakes it for disappointment in another too-expensive textbook. “Because it has strings attached.”

She just smiles, genuinely this time, and nudges him. “But that’s the best kind, Vector.”

“Maybe for you, but--”

“You have serious commitment issues,” Kotori notes, sounding disappointed. “You and Merag could have probably been dysfunctionally married by now.”

Vector bristles. “Merag was different. Kaito is different,” he says shortly. “I’ll… figure it out. Like usual.”

There’s a pause as they turn to the next aisle of bookcases.

“Rio was… happy with you, you know?”

This is the last thing he wants to hear right now. “Kotori--”

“I know it’s not my place, especially now, to bring any of this up in a campus bookstore of all places, but I mean it. You guys were good for each other,” she admits, a little wistfully. “I miss her, the way she was when she was dating you. Now she’s just… I don’t know. She’s changed.”

Vector knows.

“I’m--”

“Don’t say sorry,” Kotori says. “You’ve never been good at apologies.”

+++++

Vector stares at various swatches of decorative card paper, turning his nose up at all the options (because confession notes are stupidly formal and why does Haruto have to be so adamant on doing one anyway?). Haruto’s staring at them all intently, as if they’re speaking to him, and finally after minutes upon minutes have passed, he picks one up.

“What about this one?”

It’s a light blue colour, like the eggshells Vector studied in his high school Biology class. It’s got white spiralling designs on opposite corners and generally looks pretty enough.

“I still think this is stupid,” Vector says instead. “It’s like you don’t want my help at all, the way you keep _not listening to me_.”

Haruto pouts at him. “I listen to you!”

“Yeah right. I told you not to write a confession note and here you are, picking out a card to write one on. Jeez, kid.”

“Girls at my school seem to go for this kind of stuff, though.”

“Who cares what they go for? If they’re not going for you instead of the rest of the ugly bunch in your class, then they’re wrong.”

“Did you just call me attractive?”

Vector doesn’t miss a beat. “You’ve got the same genes as Kaito, who is attractive. So by default, you’re probably pretty attractive.”

Haruto just laughs. Vector rolls his eyes, used to the teasing treatment from the elder Tenjo brother and not at all surprised that the habit seems to have reached the younger one as well.

“You know Kaito’s serious about you, right?” Haruto says, flipping through another stack of cardstock.

“I don’t know _why_. I’m a fucking asshole.”

“No, Vec! I’m being serious, he’s really into you.”

“Yeah, sure Haruto.”

Haruto rolls his eyes. “You’re both so dumb. Just fuck him already, god knows he wants you to.”

“I can’t believe you’re telling me to fuck your brother. This is so wrong on so many levels. Can we stop talking about this?”

“Nope.”

“You are the worst.”

Haruto just shoots him a cheeky smile and continues his search for the perfect card.

+++++

The last thing Kaito’s eyes have ever been is lustful.

They’ve been blank, clear, soft, hard, teasing, and thoughtful, and everything but lustful. They’ve been hurt, and angry, and some kind of happy, but they’ve never, ever been lustful. Right now, in fact, they’re reflecting the snow that’s falling outside of the window, and they’re the colour of an overcast sky, blank like slate, and dotted with flecks. Not lustful.

 _Haruto doesn’t know what he’s talking about_ , Vector decides as Kaito’s ringed fingers curl around his Starbucks coffee and he takes a no doubt scalding sip.

“I know you think I’m hot, but you can stop staring at me any time,” Kaito says, completely deadpan as they exit the coffee shop.

Vector’s eyes snap down to the hot chocolate in his hands. “As if.”

Kaito’s lips quirk up in what Vector can almost consider to be a smirk. “How are your classes so far?”

“Boring. If it weren’t for Kotori next to me, I’d be sleeping through all of them.”

“You graduate this year right?”

“Yeah. They want me to pay forty bucks for a piece of paper and a couple photos, like I haven’t paid thousands for tuition already. Jeez.”

Kaito regards him curiously. “How do you pay it all anyway? You don’t work.”

“Rich, ignorant, barely there parents. What else?”

“That sounds nice.”

 _It’s not. Not really_ , Vector wants to say, but in Kaito’s case, maybe it is. “It has some good points,” he says instead. “So, what do you want to do today?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Somewhere with heating that actually works would be nice,” Vector says with a shiver as they pass the library. “By the way, have you ever burned your tongue or are you just that internally hot?”

Kaito smiles, lips half buried under his thick scarf. “I heard you once called me a literal space heater, so I’d say I am.”

“It’s _true_.”

“So why don’t we just hang out at your dorm?”

“Doing what?”

“I can think of a few things.”

It takes a moment for Vector to fully register it, but it’s staring him in the face and: _Shit. Haruto was right._

+++++

When Vector finds himself at Kotori’s doorstep again, he doesn’t kiss her. Instead, he looks at her with such determination he thinks his face might crack.

“What’s so important that you had to come knocking on my door at three in the fucking morning, Vec?” Kotori asks when she opens the door, groggy and probably half-asleep.

“I want you to sleep with me.”

Kotori’s brow furrows and she leans heavily against the doorframe. Her pajamas, a t-shirt and shorts, look too cold, but she seems just fine. Vector envies the girl’s dorms heating system.

“Why would you want to do something like that? I thought everything was okay,” she says, yawning.

“I need to test something.”

“Test what? How hard your boner is for Kaito?”

“That’s one way of putting it.”

Kotori rolls her eyes, and without makeup Vector can make out the tired bags under them. “Whatever. Should I just call up Yuma like ‘hey Vector wants to sleep with me in order to figure out what love is and I just wanted to let you know we’ll be getting it on?’” She lets out a bitter laugh. “In your dreams.”

Vector’s not used to this kind of response from her. Normally she’d have kicked him out by now. “... Have you been drinking?”

“Maybe. Who cares.” Kotori stares at him, completely deadpan. “So what if I am? I can drink too, it’s not reserved for bad boy try-hards like _you_.”

Vector’s not sure how to deal with this. “Did… something happen?”

Kotori’s gaze is starting to tear into his soul. “It’s not like you care, with how much you like talking about yourself and your own dumb feely problems. Fuck… I’m getting another.”

She spins around and stumbles for a second before walking as gracefully as she can into her dorm. Vector follows her, wondering if he should spot her. He’s never seen her drunk before.

(He’s also never seen her cry before.)

Kotori’s desk lamp is on, casting the room in a dark glow as she gets out another wine glass from the shelves by her desk. A bottle of wine sits on her bedside table, already half empty. He can faintly make out tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. She pours for the both of them, somehow not spilling a drop, and shoves a glass toward him.

“Kotori. What the fuck happened?” Vector asks, thoroughly confused as he takes the glass.

His friend looks up at him with angry red eyes and a face streaked with the tears she was trying to hold back. “Yuma broke up with me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahaha... now you all know why I was so excited about posting this chapter WHOOPS.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it, and look forward to the next chapter where it continues to downward spiral ;)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vector hits what he thinks might be rock bottom.

Vector stays over that night, because he can’t just leave when Kotori is breaking right in front of him. He owes Kotori for too many things, too many favours that he’s never thanked her for, and he owes her this, at least. When she finally falls asleep, she’s still clutching his arms, tears rolling down her cheeks, and he ends up laying beside her, watching as her breath slows down and evens out, and her tears dry up. He tucks a piece of hair behind her ear and wonders how such a happy, normal couple like them could break up.

They skip class in the morning and hit the cafeteria late enough that they’ve missed breakfast, but they're too early for lunch, so there’s only dried up pastries left. When they’ve paid and sat down, Kotori looks up into his eyes for the first time in hours. She looks haggard, even with all the makeup he watched her painstakingly paint on.

“How’s Kaito?”

Vector grimaces, because this shouldn’t be about him. “Who cares? How are you?”

“Awful.” Kotori’s eyes drop to her blueberry muffin, fingers picking it apart just to do something. Vector vaguely remembers the outline of another bottle, empty and in the trash, and wonders how hungover she is, if at all.

“What? Don’t have anything smart to say?” Her brow knits tightly and she glares at him from under lashes saturated in mascara that she stabbed into her eyes twice from blurring tears.

“Nope,” he lies.

“I don’t need your pity.”

“You probably don’t _need_ me at all.”

An uncomfortable silence settles over them for a moment like a suffocating blanket. Kotori’s slumps back into her chair and frowns at the table.

“Thank you,” she finally says. “And… I’m sorry.”

+++++

"I heard what happened," Kaito says while Vector's trying and failing to do homework.

The cursor blinks at him on an empty document that's supposed to chart out some stupid assignment that really doesn't matter (not when there's so much more going on, not when Kotori has gone radio silent for a week, not when talking to Kaito still makes his heart beat too fast). Skype is open in case Kotori comes online, but Kaito caught him out instead.

"Whose side are you on?" Vector asks dully.

"I don't really think there are sides to take."

"There’s always sides to take."

Kaito shrugs in the bottom corner of his screen. "If you say so,” he says, before changing tack: “How's Kotori?"

"Hell if I know. She's been offline and unreachable for days."

"What about class?"

"Skipping."

Kaito looks almost thoughtful as Vector clenches his hands over his keyboard, trying to calm down, trying to focus. "Last time she locked herself up, all the members of the Numbers Club pitched in to give her a shopping spree. It was only off of their high school allowances, and wasn't much, but it got her out of her house. Maybe you should take her out if you're so worried?"

"Worried? Yeah, right."

"Yeah, right," Kaito echoes. "It's pretty obvious, Vec. She’s not much, only, you know, your _best friend._ "

“So? She can figure it out herself--”

“Just like you have with me? I doubt it.”

“That’s none of your business,” Vector snaps, feeling his heart pound. He wishes he could rip it out of his chest so he could stop hearing it thrum in his throat.

Kaito doesn’t even look mad. “Kotori told me, you know. About how you don’t do relationships. How you always back out and do something stupid to break them off.”

“Like I said, that’s none of your--”

Eyes still as a lake, Kaito cuts him off again: “She told me you kissed her.”

Vector cuts the call.

+++++

_ <<so… did u rly cheat on my brother?>> _

+++++

Vector turns off his D-Gazer, not that anyone really calls him anyway (but he doesn’t want to listen, doesn’t want to talk, doesn’t know how to function anymore).

A week passes in a blur of cigarettes he nicks off freshman in the smoking gazebos. He doesn’t open the windows of his dorm, waiting till the room is so full of smoke that his eyes start to water and he can’t breathe anything else. It passes in counts of ten, twenty, thirty because counting down from ten is never enough to settle his nerves. It passes, and it passes slowly, not even trying to erode the edginess that’s come from what others know and what he can no longer control.

A week. That’s how long it takes for a knock to sound at his door, startling him out of his daze.

Vector stubs the cigarette out on his bedside table and gets up, hearing his bones creak because he hasn’t left his bed in three days, his room in even longer. He debates not answering, not turning the handle to find out who’s there (because he still doesn’t want to listen, doesn’t want to talk, doesn’t know how to function anymore).

“Just open the door, Vector.”

He rests his forehead on the door. “No,” he croaks.

“Scaredy-cat.”

“Fuck off Haruto.”

“Are you seriously playing the crying game right now? Open the damn door.”

When he finally does, it creaks open to reveal Haruto, who is glaring at him, and Kotori standing a bit behind him, staring at anything but him, fingers clutching the hem of her skirt. Her hair is tied up in her usual bun, face painted with all the makeup she usually wears, but she still looks awful. Vector has to bite back the pity that dissolves his frustration.

“Happy now? It’s open,” Vector mutters instead.

Haruto’s arms cross over his chest, nose scrunching up. “You smoke?”

“Yeah, what of it?”

Kotori’s eyes flash anger for a moment that passes too fast for Vector to think on it.

“You look like shit.”

“Thanks, it’s the lack of effort that really makes the look work,” Vector responds dryly. “Any other genius observations or are you going to get to the point?”

Haruto doesn’t miss a beat. “Did you get any of Kaito’s texts?”

“No.”

“Okay. I’ll tell Kaito. He’s worried.”

Vector barks out a laugh. “As if.”

Haruto frowns. “I’m not lying. He’s worried about you.”

“Why would anyone worry about trash like me?”

Kotori finally looks up and their eyes connect for a brief moment. Hers are a blaze of anger and hurt and something Vector can’t recognize, can’t place, but Haruto’s talking again and he can’t focus.

“The last thing you are is trash to him. An idiot, sure, but not _trash_ ,” Haruto says before turning on his heel. “Whatever, I’m done here. Don’t worry, I remember the way out,” he adds to Kotori before storming off.

Vector exhales roughly and glances over to Kotori. "Are you gonna say something too, or can I go back to sleep?”

Kotori glares at him, pulling her sweater tighter around her. Her eyes are beginning to tear up and he’s about to ask why when she steps up to him, pushes him back into his dorm and closes the door behind them. There’s only inches between them now and Kotori’s breathing the poison he tried to drown himself in and it’s not-- He’s about to step back some more when she sets her hand on his hip.

“What are you--?”

“What was so bad that you had to ask to sleep with me?” she asks, voice small and quiet in the darkness, not looking up into his eyes.

“I don’t remember.”

“Bullshit.”

Vector grimaces. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Then don’t drag me into your problems.” Her hand pulls away, and he almost wants to pull it back.

“He told me he could love me,” he says, words rushed. “And I--”

“Got scared,” she finishes for him.

“... Yeah.”

Her brow creases and she looks up at him. “I’m scared too.”

He’s about to ask why when her lips press against his. Her hands skim his collarbones, up to his shoulders that hunch up instinctively. He doesn’t want to respond, not like this, not with everything that’s happened, but it’s a hard habit to break.

It feels as good as Merag, as awful as Mizael, and nothing like Kaito -- and he misses Kaito, with his scalding coffee and his reflective eyes and the way warmth rolls off of him in waves.

When Kotori pulls away, there’s only silence.

“How did that feel?” she finally asks, voice cracking. Her fists are trembling at her sides. A tear slides down her cheek as she draws in a breath. Her lipgloss is smudged now, but if anything it makes her look more perfect, less carefully pulled together.

“Wrong,” he answers, and then after a beat: “Are you okay?”

“Awful.”

He draws her into a hug. “Yuma?”

“I just don’t _understand--_ ” she sobs and Vector only holds her tighter.

“He’s an idiot.”

“So are you. I’m surrounded by them.”

Vector manages a smile. “You’ll be okay.”

“You will be too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told my friend once as a joke that kotobeku was going to end up in this fic at least momentarily even though it's supposed to be kaibeku and wow I actually fucking managed to do it.
> 
> (one of Vector's life regrets in this fic is that he never got the chance to sleep with Kotori because she started dating Yuma before he could get to her.)
> 
> (~The More You Know~)


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vector hates himself.  
> Chris is a dick.  
> Kaito's still in this.

_< <are you okay?>>_

_< <I’m not mad. we can talk about this>>_

_< <would you believe me if I said I miss you right now?>>_

_< <Vector seriously, you can text me any time>>_

_< <it’s been a week, did your D-Pad die or are you seriously ignoring me?>>_

_< <call me.>>_

+++++

Kotori ends up spending the day with him. They roam around campus because she refuses to let him stay in his room any longer. They go to the library, Starbucks, the computer room, and Vector can tell Kotori’s trying to make it an adventure by the way her smile pulls too much and she can’t look him in the eye.

Then it’s late and campus is emptying out and he’s escorting her back to her dorm. She invites him to stay, just until she falls asleep, and Vector does because the look in her eyes is afraid of being left alone, and he knows what that’s like all too well. While she showers and gets ready for bed, he takes a spot at her desk and fiddles idly with his D-Pad. When Kotori climbs into bed, curling up under the sheets, she gives him a concerned look.

“Still thinking about the texts?” she asks softly.

Vector answers with a grimace. “You should sleep if you want to make it to class on time in the morning,” he says instead.

“I guess,” she says, reluctantly dropping it and burrowing herself into her quilt.

He watches her fall asleep, over the dark black screen of his D-Pad, the one she convinced him to turn on because he shouldn’t be afraid -- _“I’m not afraid.” “Then why’d you turn it off?”_ \-- and Kaito’s not angry (but why should Vector believe that?).

_“Just because I’m single, doesn’t mean you have to be.”_

Vector scoffs. Like he cared about-- _“She’s not much, only, you know, your_ best friend _.”_

One of his hands wrangles itself through his nest of hair as his other switches the D-Pad on again, eyes scanning through Kaito’s text-log. No matter how many times Kotori told him Kaito isn’t mad, he still can’t believe it.

_< <call me.>>_

Vector wants to hear his voice again, to see him again. He doesn’t want whatever they have to end, but maybe it’s better that way? Maybe…

He looks over to Kotori, watches her soft breaths, wonders if she’s really asleep already…

He picks up his D-Gazer and settles the gigantic, over-sized device on his head before quietly stepping out of the room so Kotori doesn’t wake up. When the door clicks shut, he heads down the hall. His D-Gazer tells him it’s almost two in the morning in bright white digital numbers, but he doesn’t care because maybe Kaito won’t pick up, maybe he’s fast asleep like Kotori, maybe he’s sane.

Maybe he’s angry.

It rings, once, twice, three times, and Vector expects to hang up before hitting voicemail, but then:

“What’s up, asshole?”

Vector’s mouth runs dry. “Can’t sleep. You?”

“Don’t want to sleep.”

“Sleep is for the weak.”

He can hear Kaito breath a laugh. “So you called me because you can’t sleep, or?”

“I… don’t know,” Vector admits. “You asked me to.”

“So you turned your D-Pad on?”

“... Yeah. I’m--”

“It’s okay.”

Vector stops. Breathes, or at least tries to. “No, it’s--”

“I’m serious. You’re a good person, you’re just stupid. That’s fine, I can deal with that.”

Vector doesn’t know how to deal with this. Merag raged, Mizael wouldn’t talk to him for weeks, it ended in catastrophe and hospital bills and Kaito… Kaito’s not doing anything.

“Wanna go out?”

“Now?”

“Yeah,” Kaito says, as if he’s decided already. “Let’s go out.”

“At two in the morning?”

“Why not? We’re not sleeping. Wanna meet up on the roof?”

Vector ignores the way his heart pounds against his ribcage, ignores the way he can hear it thrum, echoing in his ears. “Are you here?”

“Do you want me to be?”

Vector’s breath hitches in his throat. “Why aren’t you angry?” he asks, too quietly, like he’s going to break like Kotori did. He doesn’t want Kaito to hear it, but he does.

“Kotori told me how relationships usually go down with you. If that’s how you work, then that’s fine. Everything’s okay now, right Vector?”

Vector vaguely remembers a time when Kotori warned him about Kaito. How he shouldn’t mess with a guy like him. Not unless… He wants to laugh, and he can feel it bubble up in his lungs. “You were serious.”

“I still am.”

“Then… I’m serious too. Now.”

“And I’m here. Meet me on the roof.”

+++++

The night is as clear as it was all those weeks ago, and Vector for once relishes the biting breeze on his skin. His hair is a mess, and he looks like a wreck, but at the very least he’s wearing a clean hoodie and jeans. He blows hot air onto his hands and rubs them together, trying to warm himself, before something soft hits the back of his head.

“Wear that, idiot.”

Vector picks the scarf from atop his head, a teal coloured one this time, and he remembers the one he still has tucked away somewhere in the mess of his closet as he wraps it around his neck. He turns around to see Kaito walking toward him. “Thanks Ka--”

Before he can finish his sentence, Kaito’s lips are on his, fingers gripping at the collar of his hoodie. Vector can feel him, warm and familiar, and everything Kotori -- nobody -- could never match up to. It’s just like the first time (the last time, the only time), but it meant something then.

(It could still mean something now.)

“I missed you,” Kaito says when he lets go.

“I missed you too,” Vector whispers, and Kaito’s arms wrap around him, wrapping him in a warmth that makes the chill in the night disappear.

“Are you okay now?”

Vector feels his chest shudder a breath, thoughts derailing when Kaito’s rings brush against his cheek. They’re warm, like he is. Like the world isn’t. “I don’t want to be like this with you.”

“Real adults are worse. Trust me.”

“I trust you.”

“Tell me what you want,” Kaito asks, adjusting the scarf around Vector’s neck. His eyes, dark like the night, don’t leave Vector’s. He feels transparent, but with Kaito it seems he always is.

“I don’t want to fuck up with you. I don’t want to fuck you up,” Vector answers truthfully, because there’s no other way to answer when Kaito’s watching him so intently. Vector’s hands are shaking again and Kaito holds them, his touch so soft, so unlike Merag who grabbed and pulled, or Mizael who gripped like he was going to disappear.

“You won’t. Someone already did that and you can’t do any worse.”

“But--”

“I promise you can’t do any worse.”

“I did. Once.”

“You’re past it now,” Kaito says. “And we should probably head inside, you look like you’re about to get hypothermia.”

+++++

Vector’s room still smells like smoke even though the windows were left open, but if Kaito notices he doesn’t say anything. Instead he just changes into the tee and sweatpants that Vector throws at him and sits down on the bed. Vector tries to stop the shaking while he’s in the bathroom, splashing water over his face because Kaito’s still here, he hasn’t left, nothing’s wrong (nothing but Vector). He steps out, back into his room where Kaito is still on his bed, still hasn’t left him alone.

“I, uhm,” Vector starts. “Your toothbrush is still there. If you need it.”

“Thanks.”

Vector’s replaces Kaito on the bed, and it’s warm, like he is, and he ends up clutching the sheets between his cold fingers. He tries to think about the last time Kaito stayed over, when he couldn’t sleep, when things were still mostly intact. He doesn’t notice Kaito come back until he’s prying Vector’s hands from their grip on the sheets, linking his fingers with them instead, as if to reassure him he’s not leaving, he’s not going anywhere, he’s not going to storm out.

“Are you okay?”

Vector keeps waiting for this calm to shatter, for Kaito to end up just like Merag did. But there are no knives here, no sharp edges (but there are blunt ones). “No.”

Kaito’s fingers brush over his cheek. “You’ll be okay. Eventually.”

He doesn’t press and Vector’s almost thankful, but he doesn’t want to talk about anything (not when he can still remember things he’s tried too hard to forget). His shoulders hunch up when Kaito sits next to him, leans into him. Vector tries to breath again, staring at his hands intertwined with Kaito’s because he’s still here, right here.

“Why haven’t you left?” Vector finally asks.

“Is that what you want?”

Vector only clutches his hands tighter. “I’m… I’m horrible. Why do you want to be here?”

“Chris is horrible. You’re just stupid.”

It’s not a contest, he doesn’t want to be like this, but still the question erupts before he can think about it: “What could be worse than what I did to Merag?”

“He… forced me into an illicit relationship,” Kaito starts, eyes going hard like coal, “and got me kicked out of Heartland U because of it. I can’t go here anymore, they won’t accept me even with my grades, my perfect record, my four point oh GPA… Nothing. Because he took advantage of me.”

Silence reigns for all of a second before Kaito speaks up again:

“You might have scarred Rio, but she still has a future.”

A future, like the one Mizael gave him when he confiscated all of his cigarettes, all of his other drugs. Like the one Kotori forced him into when she sat him down at her computer and made him apply to all the same schools so they could do it together, so he wouldn’t be left alone or left behind.

“Yeah…” Vector agrees. “But that’s her. What about us?”

Kaito shrugs. “I like us.”

“I like you.”

“I like you too, so what’s the problem?”

Vector doesn’t know anymore. “You would keep me?”

“Yeah. I would.”

Vector feels a weight drop from his shoulders when Kaito smiles at him, eyes soft, and maybe this is what love looks like. Maybe he’s found it. He looks down to Kaito’s hand, still in his, and smiles too.

“Okay.”

“Are you okay now?”

“Yeah. I’m… okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edit, Feb 21st: So... this story is going on hiatus because I've been going through a lot of stress with life and this fic, and I'm not sure what direction it needs to go in next! so hold tight :)
> 
> I'm still writing, and still posting other stories so that I might get out of the rut I've put myself in with this fic, but for the next couple of weeks there probably won't be an update for this one. I still want to write it, and have tons of ideas, but it's all so jumbled that I'm not sure what I want to do, or even where it's headed, so until I figure it all out and have a proper game plan, this won't update!
> 
> ah, if you like my writing, you can always check out my other weird rarepair one-shots if you need tiding over in the meantime :3
> 
> I apologize to anyone who was looking forward to this week's chapter! :(


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow sorry for the uber long hiatus and also sorry for this pittance of a chapter, it's so short but I figured a breather was in order after that last chap! hope you enjoy <3

When Vector wakes up that morning, it’s late and Kaito’s beside him, warmth rolling off him in the waves that Vector’s so familiar with.

“Morning,” Kaito says when his eyes flutter open, and for once he’s not out of bed and his case of bedhead rivals Vector’s. And that’s… new.

“Morning…?”

“Shhhh…” Kaito’s arms wrap around his, eyes closed, long blonde lashes brushing his cheekbones.

“You’re not up.”

“You’re not either,” Kaito mumbles into the cotton of his t-shirt. “Go back to sleep.”

He can’t argue with that.

+++++

“You really shouldn’t smoke,” Kaito says, offhandedly as they play Dead or Alive a week later.

“Why’s that? Is it _bad_  for me?” Vector asks from his position lying upside-down on his bed, controller held up in the air as he button-mashes.

“Because I used to and it’s shit.”

Vector scoffs at the screen, having lost yet again, and turns his head to look at Kaito, who’s sitting on the floor, against the bed, digging through a bag of Smartfood after his latest victory.

“You used to smoke? Yeah right.”

“Lung cancer runs in the family.”

“You don’t care?”

“I didn’t.”

“So why’d you stop, then?”

“Haruto told me to. He gave enough of a shit to tell me to stop.”

Vector rolls over onto his stomach. “Mizael did the same thing for me. In high school. He took everything I had and burned it in the school’s incinerator, and then told me I’m quitting.”

Kaito breathes a laugh. “Sounds like him. So… why’d you start again?”

Vector’s lips twist into a grimace. “Because of you,” he decides on, because Kaito’s looking right at him and it’s hard to lie when he does that. “You’re a stressful person.”

“And I’ve always been told I’m low-maintenance,” Kaito deadpans, licking his fingers of Smartfood powder. “Are you gonna stop?”

“Are you telling me to?” Vector asks, trying to ignore the way Kaito’s lips close around his middle finger.

Kaito shrugs. “No, just wondering.”

“It sounds like a trick question.”

“I’m not gonna stop you.”

“Good.”

“Haruto might try.”

“Who cares? This time I’ll kick your ass,” Vector says, starting another rematch on the console. “Ready to go down?”

“Oh, I thought you owed me a kiss? You know, for _losing_? Or are we not doing that?”

“Fuck off.”

Kaito smirks before sucking all the powder off his thumb. Vector turns away, feeling his face heat up, and swears he can hear Kaito not-laugh at him again. As much as he wants to be annoyed, he’s not (because they’re okay now, and that’s more than Vector could ever ask for). “Okay fine. I’m ready.”

Vector somehow wins, which should have been impossible because Kaito’s good at this game for whatever reason, but somehow he does it. Kaito drops his controller and, faster than Vector can process, sits up and presses his lips to Vector’s. It lasts less than a second and when he pulls away, Vector practically sputters.

“What the fuck?” He feels his face heating up and he swears to god Kaito is going to be the one to bring out the redhead, red-face curse hiding in him. “You lost on <i>purpose</i>!”

Kaito breathes another laugh, and Vector wonders if he’s ever _actually_ laughed for real, like, ever. “I missed this.”

“Smartfood and boob mechanics?”

“Hanging out with you, moron.” Kaito flicks his forehead. “Smartfood is a bonus. So were the poptarts.”

“I knew you’d see the light one day.”

+++++

Kotori's smiles look genuine nowadays, but her eyes are still tired and worn under layers of concealer and foundation and eyeliner she refuses to give up unless she's alone. And she hardly ever is anymore since Vector has made it his mission to knock on her door every day with takeout in paper bags.

The first time it's a surprise. By the second week, it's habit, and she laughs when she answers the door, barefaced and grinning. "Hey Vec!"

"Yo," he says, slipping inside into her warm room and setting the paper bags -- Chipotle, this time -- down on her desk. "I got dessert today. Brownies from Starbucks."

"Mmm, I haven't had one of those in a while!" Kotori says, sitting down on her bed. "Chipotle too! I love Chipotle!"

"Heh. Yeah, I know, hope you like it hot," Vector says, taking out her order and handing it over.

"Hot's the only way to have it," Kotori says cheerily as she takes it. "So, what's up? How are things since yesterday?"

"Went on a date."

"How'd that go?" she asks.

"Really good. We went bowling because Kaito sucks at Wii bowling and wanted to prove he's good at the real thing."

Kotori laughs. "Yeah, he's normally good with video games, but he just sucks at Wii bowling? It's, like, the easiest Wii sport!"

"Easier than tennis?"

"Okay, maybe not tennis."

"He had a streak of strikes, it was fucking insane," Vector continues. "Have you seen him bowl?"

"Back in high school. Once. He got a lot of spares back then so I'm assuming he's only gotten better," Kotori says with a giggle.

"Really better. Like, ridiculously better. I was totally owned."

Kotori just laughs between her mouthful of rice and sour cream. "You should step up your game. Show him your skills at those annoying watergun fair games."

"Heh. Maybe."

Now that Vector knows they still have time for it, maybe he will.

+++++

Weeks pass by, and they’re back to their normal. Haruto still isn’t texting him back, even after all the pestering Vector’s texted his way, usually at four in the morning when he can’t sleep, because Kaito’s been staying over more lately, like a reminder he won’t leave when their fingers interlock and Vector wakes up with Kaito’s hand in his.

It’s good, but Vector still feels tense, like something’s gonna drop and soon because Kaito’s too perfect, too understanding, too… protective? And fuck if Vector needed that.

It’s when they’re outside one day, after Vector nicks a cigarette off a freshman by the main tower, that Vector’s bad feeling starts vibrating in his chest.

“So, what do you want to do?” Vector asks, trying to shake it off as he pulls out his lighter.

“Doesn’t matter. What’s there to do?”

“Homework I’m ignoring,” Vector says, lighting up and taking a drag. “Cleaning my room, which I’m also ignoring.”

Kaito smirks at that. “How about I help you with that?”

“If you’re fine with the way it is, I wouldn’t put much effort into it.”

“I’m fine with you.”

There it is again, the constant re-approval, the reiterations that Vector is fine the way he is. That Kaito still likes him. Vector can hardly hide his smile.

“Then let’s go for a movie. Anything you wanna see?”

“Not really, your pick. I haven’t kept up with what’s out, so,” Kaito says, linking his fingers with Vector’s free ones.

Vector taps the ash off the end of his cigarette. “Sounds good. Let’s go.”

 


End file.
